National

Sonia advises Cong ruled states to explore possibilities to pass new laws to bypass Centre’s farm laws

New Delhi, (the states. news) Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday advised the Congress ruled states to explore possibilities of bringing new laws in their respective state legislatures to bypass the Centre’s farm laws.
‘Congress President has advised the Congress ruled states to

explore the possibilities to pass laws in their respective states under Article 254(2) of the constitution which allows the state legislatures to pass a law to negate the Anti-Agriculture Central laws encroaching upon State’s jurisdiction under the Constitution,’ AICC General secretary In-charge for Organization K C Venugopal said in a statement here on Monday.

‘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,’ the statement said.
‘This would also alleviate the farmers from the grave injustice done by the Modi Government & BJP,’ the statement added. Despite a spate of protests by farmers and Opposition parties, President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave his assent to the three Farm Bills passed by Parliament recently.

The passage of the three Bills — Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020 — met with stiff opposition in the Rajya Sabha when it came up for passage on September 20.

The Government has notified the legislation in the gazette. While the Government has described the contentious legislation as “landmark and historic”, almost the entire Opposition has attacked the Bills as anti-farmer and pro-corporate.

The Opposition parties had submitted a memorandum to the President Kovind urging him not to sign the Bills claiming they had been passed “unconstitutionally”. NDA’s oldest ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal, had also severed ties with the Alliance in protest against the Bill after SAD minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal submitted her resignation on this issue. (uni) (media saheb.com)