Prez gives his assent to three farm Bills amid farmers’ protests
President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave his assent to the three farms Bills passed by Parliament even as the farmers’ organisation and Opposition parties continued to rally against the controversial legislations. One of BJP’s oldest allies and a founding member of the NDA, the Shiromani Akali Dal, on Sunday called for unifying the Opposition to take on the BJP.
The Opposition had earlier urged the President to return the Bills to Parliament saying the Bills were against farmers and had been rammed through the Rajya Sabha without a division of votes. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday called upon all political parties and organisations to close ranks for a united fight to protect the interests of farmers, farm labour and farm produce traders in the country, especially in Punjab.
“We are ready to join or follow any struggle in the overall interests of the farmers, farm labour, Arhatiyas and other farm produce traders,” said Badal, while making his first public speech after the party broke alliance with the NDA on Saturday night. Badal received instant support from the Trinamool Congress. “We support Sukhbir Singh Badal and Akali Dal’s stand with the farmers. Fighting for farmers is part of Trinamool DNA. In 2006, Mamata Banerjee risked her life on a historic 26-day fast for farmers’ rights. We oppose Farm Bills 2020 as they endanger States’ role, MSP, PDS procurement, TMC leader Derek O’Brien tweeted.
Thanking Derek for his support, Sukhbir tweeted, “Derek — your stand against the Agriculture Bills in Parliament is well known. Appreciate your support.” He said the country needed to understand and empathise with the farmers and farm labour in view of the pathetic conditions in which they were living.
Reiterating his party’s firm commitment to preserving peace, communal harmony and fraternity in Punjab at all costs, Badal said, “We must not flinch from the ideals of keeping our struggle for people’s rights absolutely peaceful and democratic. I must caution against attempts to defame our struggle by disturbing peace but that should only strengthen our resolve to safeguard the age-old values of Punjabi fraternity and the path of peaceful democratic struggle.”
He again advised the Chief Minister to issue an Ordinance to declare the whole State a Mandi (Principal Marketing Yard) to save farmers from “black laws”. Badal was addressing gatherings of party workers and farmers at Ropar, Hoshiarpur and Phagwara on Sunday, to mobilise them for October 1 Kisan March, which would commence from all three religious Takht Sahibs in Punjab and culminate at Mohali.
Taking a cue from its counterpart in Rajasthan, the Amrinder Singh Government in Punjab is considering bringing a legislation declaring the entire State as a Principal Mandi Yard to nullify the Central Act. This would nullify the Central law prohibiting imposition of any tax or cess on out-of-mandi transactions.
Declaration of Punjab as a mandi will ensure farmers selling directly to third parties will get MSP and the State earns its mandi tax.
Though it is not clear if such a radical decision will be legally tenable.
Punjab has decided to challenge the law in the Supreme Court on two grounds.
“Agriculture is a State subject. And the law does not allow one Government - in this case the Centre - to destroy the economy of another,” he said, adding that there was no need to tinker with a system that was working well.
Rajasthan was the first State that passed an order late last month designating all warehouses of Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State warehousing corporation as mandis, thereby retaining its powers to charge mandi fees. The order was seen by many as a move to neutralise the impact of the Centre’s Ordinance designating all out-of-mandi areas, including warehouses and godowns, as trade zones where taxes could not be levied.
The President gave his assent to the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 on September 24, as per a notification issued by the Law Ministry on Sunday. The President signed on the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 on September 26. All three Bills have been notified in the official gazette on Sunday by the Law Ministry.
The President signed on two of these Bills just a day after the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad had met the President on September 23, handing him over a representation on behalf of various Opposition parties that the Bills had been passed unconstitutionally and should be returned. The two Bills got the assent from the President on September 24, a day before the ‘bharat bandh’ call by farmer organisations in Punjab and Haryana.
