Punjab MPs meet HM Shah, Railway Minister Goyal over suspension of train services in state

Punjab Parliament Members on Saturday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal over the suspension of goods-train in the state. Congress MP Jasbir Singh Gill said expressed hope on the resumption of services after the meeting with Home Minister and Railway Minister. 

"After meeting Home Minister Amit Shah and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal today, we (Congress MPs from Punjab) think train services on the affected route will resume soon," Jasbir Singh Gill said while addressing the reporters in Delhi.

He also added that even Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Chief Secretary will also hold talks with the Piyush Goyal to resolve the issue at the soonest.

On November 6 too, the lawmakers of Punjab had met the Railway Minister where he assured them that the train services would resume after the state government gives assurance that no untoward incident would happen to railway property and personnel. Goyal had said that the tracks should be clear and safety and security should be assured by the state government.

Trains had been suspended in the state after the protests in Punjab over the newly enacted Farm Laws, leading to a rail roko andolan where the farmers bodies had staged protests on railway tracks demanding the rollback of the farm laws. The losses suffered by Railways due to the farm bill agitation in Punjab have already crossed an estimated Rs 1200 crore as protests on tracks are underway at 32 places across the state, officials had said as stated by PTI. More than 2225 freight rakes carrying vital commodities could not be operated due to the blockages caused by the protestors. Around 1350 have been forced to be cancelled or diverted, they had said.

The Punjab chief minister had also staged protests against the new laws. Congress had then said that the new laws will affect the MSP mechanism even after the Centre had assured that the new laws will have no impact on the MSP. The Centre had said that the new laws will only allow the farmers to sell their produce outside of the Mandi while also having the doors open to sell in Mandis too. The Punjab assembly had passed three laws in the state negating the laws by the Centre in the Parliament, however, whether the states can negate the laws passed in the parliament is a subject of discussion, with BJP contending that the Farm laws passed in the Parliament cannot be negated by states.

The Punjab Chief Minister had launched a 'dharna' at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on November 4 over the issue of suspension of the goods railways services in Punjab, after his request to meet President Ram Nath Kovind to give assent to the state farm laws was turned down.

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Farm Bills passed in Parliament

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 aims at freeing the farmers from the constraints of the state Agriculture Produce Market Committees whereby they would be able to sell their produce anywhere. Meanwhile, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 protects and empowers farmers to engage with processors, wholesalers, large retailers, exporters for farm services. This entails the provision of contract farming. On the other hand, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 specifies that the supply of foodstuffs including cereals, pulses, potato, edible oilseeds, and oils shall be regulated only under exceptional circumstances.

(With ANI inputs)

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