Punjab CM Amarinder Singh says 'President can't ignore farmers' will' amid passage of bill

Defending the Punjab government’s move of passing bills in its state assembly to negate the farm reform laws, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said that he was doing everything for farmers of the country and the President could not ignore the will of the farmers.

While speaking with media, Singh said, "Agriculture is a state subject. We passed the resolution rejecting three farm laws enacted by the central government and Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal should also pass it in the Delhi Assembly. The president cannot ignore the will of some of the people of India and its farmers. Kisans (farmers) constitute 85 per cent of this country."

"I am doing everything for the farmers of Punjab, and therefore, the farmers of this country. This is not only limited to Punjab. This extends to Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and everywhere else. I do not care about the President's rule. If they want to dismiss our government, they can do so," he added.

The chief minister on Tuesday even threatened to take legal recourse if the bills the President does not approve the three Bills unanimously passed Punjab Assembly. In a special session of the Punjab Assembly, all the legislators on Tuesday unanimously cleared three bills to negate the impact of the farm laws passed by the Parliament. The Farmers Produce Trade & Commerce Promotion & Facilitation (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020 ensures that wheat or paddy cannot be purchased except for a price equal to or greater than the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Anyone buying below the MSP shall be imprisoned for three years.

The second bill - The Essential Commodities (Special Provision & Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeks to protect consumers from hoarding and black marketing of agriculture produce. On the other hand, The Farmers Agreement on Price Assurance & Farm Services(Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020 provides that no sale or purchase of wheat and paddy under a farming agreement shall take place below the MSP. Besides this, another bill was cleared to ensure that the land of farmers up to 2.5 acres cannot be attached in any recovery proceedings.

Except for BJP MLAs who were absent from the House, the Assembly also unanimously passed a resolution rejecting the Centre's farm laws and the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020. However, the SAD and AAP who supported the bills in Punjab assembly attacked the Congress-led government. AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal even called the Punjab bills as 'false and fake'.

READ | Punjab CM Hits Out At Double Standards Of SAD & AAP; Kejriwal Highlights 'false Laws'

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Centre on Punjab's passage of bills negating the farm laws

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday said the Centre will "thoroughly examine" the bills passed by the Punjab Assembly whenever they are sent to the Centre and take a decision in farmers' interest.

I learnt that the Punjab government has passed bills related to the agriculture reform bill already passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. I am confident that the decisions that we have taken in the interest of farmers cannot be compared with anything. But in democracy, the Assembly (too) has the power to take such decisions," Tomar told PTI.

The opposition had termed the farm laws, passed in the monsoon session of the parliament last month, as anti-farmers. The opposition has been of the opinion that the farm laws would hamper the Mandi system while affecting the concept of MSP and would also lead to farmers being at the mercy of corporate entities and private players. However, the Centre on multiple occasions has assured that the new laws will free the farmers from being compulsively dependent on the APMC markets as the farmers will be able to sell their produce outside of the Mandis without the involvement of middlemen which will lead to more revenue for the farmers, while also having the doors open to sell through Mandis if they intend to.

READ | Rajasthan To Follow Punjab's Example; Will Table Bills Negating Farm Laws: Ashok Gehlot

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