Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday directed Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Pudducherry Chief Ministers to explore the possibility of passing laws to override the three agricultural Bills passed recently by the Parliament.
A statement issued by party general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said that these States have been told to pass laws under Article 254 (2) of the Constitution that allows State legislatures to do so to negate the “Anti-Agriculture” Central laws encroaching upon the States’ jurisdiction under the Constitution.
“This would enable the States to bypass the unacceptable anti-farmers provisions in the three draconian Agricultural laws including the abolition of MSP and disruption of APMCs in Congress ruled States. This would also alleviate the farmers from the grave injustice done by the Modi Government and BJP,” the statement said.
Former party chief Rahul Gandhi alleged that the agriculture-related laws are a “death sentence” for farmers whose voice has been crushed both inside and outside Parliament. “The agriculture laws are a death sentence to our farmers. Their voice is crushed in Parliament and outside. Here is proof that democracy in India is dead,” he said on Twitter.
He tagged a news report along with his tweet that claimed that Opposition members demanding a division of votes were on their seats when the farm bills were passed in the Rajya Sabha, while the government said they were not. The Congress is also protesting against the farm laws across the country.
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has started work on the lines as advised by the party high command. He has been contemplating to amend the Agriculture Produce Market Committee Act and declare the entire State as a principal mandi yard. This would circumvent the provisions in The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, which was passed in Parliament.
The declaration of mandi yards ensures that any procurement outside their ambit is considered illegal, farmers do not get a price less than the MSP, and the State gets its mandi fee.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel too had recently said his government would take legal steps to ensure that private players did not get entry into the agriculture sector. At least 40 per cent of paddy production in Chhattisgarh is procured by the Food Corporation of India for the Central pool.
And unlike Punjab and Haryana, where farmers have large land holdings, 86% of Chhattisgarh’s land holdings are of less than 5 acres.
The Congress is also considering the option of moving the Supreme Court against the bills. “Certainly all options are open. I believe it strikes at the heart of federalism, which has been held repeatedly to be part of the basic structure from Keshavanada Bharati to Bommai judgements. Therefore, you have not heard the end of the story yet,” senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Singhvi said.