Extending Punjab Government’s full support to the agitating farmers in these ‘dark and difficult times’, the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday assured of all possible legal and other steps to fight the “draconian” new farm laws, including a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to discuss and decide the way forward.
Capt Amarinder, chairing a meeting with the representatives of 31 farmer unions to take their views on the matter, said that he would be discussing the issue with his legal team to finalize the next steps, including challenging the farm laws in the Supreme Court.
Besides farmer representatives, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Punjab Harish Rawat attended the meeting, along with Cabinet Ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Gurpreet Singh Kangar and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, MLA Rana Gurjit Singh, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar and the state Advocate-General Atul Nanda.
“We will take all possible steps to counter the Union Government’s assault on the State’s federal and Constitutional rights, and fight for the interests of the farmers,” Capt Amarinder assured the farmer representatives.
If the legal experts advise amendment to the state laws to fight the central laws, a special session of the Vidhan Sabha will be immediately called to do so, he said.
Making it clear that the Government had no qualms about convening an Assembly session if that was the best course in the circumstances, the Chief Minister, however, trashed SAD president Sukhbir Badal’s demand for a special Vidhan Sabha session as “cheap gimmickry” after their active support to the central laws for months.
He questioned, where were the Akalis in the previous session and why Sukhbir did not support the other parties at the all-party meeting.
Asserting that the Centre had no right to enact these laws as it amounted to violation of the Constitution and attack on the federal structure, the Chief Minister said that Punjab Government shared the farmers’ concerns and will do whatever it takes to scuttle the Union Government’s attempt to ruin the farming community with these draconian legislations.
“The battle will be fought on all fronts,” said the Chief Minister adding that besides the Congress signature campaign, announced a day before, all Panchayats in the state would be requested to pass resolutions against the Agriculture Acts, and the same would be sent to the Union Government.
Declaring that Punjab Government and the State Congress were with the farmers in this difficult time, Capt Amarinder said that he would take the suggestions of the Kisan Unions to legal experts to finalize the next course of action.
“If the new laws are implemented, it will spell the end of agriculture,” said the Chief Minister, warning that “in the times ahead, the Government of India will follow up these legislation with elimination of MSP (minimum support price) and FCI (Food Corporation of India), bringing an end to the time-tested farming procurement and marketing system as we know it.”
Promising to fight the Farm Laws shoulder-to-shoulder with the farmers, Jakhar said that he was ready to quit PPCC presidentship to join their protests without making it a political act.
“However, I am confident that the Chief Minister would find way to counter the Central assault on the farming community and protect your interests just as he had done on the water issue.
They (Centre) have killed the farmers with a pen, we will have to find a way to kill them with a pen,” he said, quipping “Kalam naal marya hai, assi kalam naal bachavange” (We will save the farmers with the pen.
FARMERS’ SPEAK
Earlier, several farmer leaders urged the Chief Minister to challenge the central laws legally, and take whatever other steps needed to protect the farmers, including blocking construction of Adani’s silos in the State.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Rajewal’s Balbir Singh Rajewal said that the new laws will ruin the farmers, the arhtiyas (commission agents), the farm labour, the Mandi employees and rendered lakhs of people jobless, leading to a devastating impact on the state’s economy.
“These laws will lead to the establishment of two kinds of mandis — one with tax and other without tax for private players, which will eventually destroy the Government Mandis and lead to corporate monopolisation and farmer exploitation,” he said while stressing on passing the state laws through a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to protect the farmers and Punjab.
BKU Sidhupur’s Jagjit Singh Dallewal also urged the Chief Minister to convene a special session to pass a law to counter the central legislations, while Krantikari Kisan Union Punjab’s president Dr Darshan Pal requested him to consult constitutional experts so that the State could formulate new laws, in line with Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s directives. BKU Ekta’s Buta Singh and Jhanda Singh said that it was a fight to the finish to protect the farmers and the State from annihilation by the Central Government, whose sole aim was to help private corporates. If Agriculture is destroyed, so will the nation, they warned.
