Farmers Movement Archive

Repeal of farm laws only way out of current imbroglio: Cabinet

Chandigarh: The Punjab government on Thursday insisted that nothing short of repeal of the Centre’s Farm Laws, which it described as “anti-farmers, anti-nation and anti-food security” would resolve the present crisis. The state council of ministers asserted that Punjab would take all measures to protect the state’s and its farmers’ interests. “The Centre is out of touch with the ground realities,” said chief minister Amarinder Singh at a meeting of the cabinet, as the ministers declared “unequivocally” that repeal of the farm laws was the only way out of the current imbroglio. The ministers demanded that the Centre make MSP a statutory right of the farmers, who had been getting extremely low prices for their produce for the past several days despite feeding the nation. At the start of the meeting, the cabinet observed a two-minute silence in the memory of farmers who died during the agitation. An many as 78 farmers have so far lost their lives. Pointing out that even the Supreme Court had acknowledged the concerns of the protesting farmers, the ministers said that if the matter remains unresolved, it could have devastating repercussions for the country for decades to come. In a formal resolution, the cabinet reiterated its commitment to the resolutions passed by the Punjab legislative assembly on August 28, 2020, and October 20, 2020, stressing that all genuine demands of the farmers must be accepted. It urged the Centre to “repeal the farm laws as agriculture is a state subject under the Constitution, and to make MSP a statutory right.” “There is a need for broad-based dialogue and proper consultation with all stakeholders as these legislations impact the future of millions of farmers across the country, and all genuine demands of the farmers must be accepted,” said the resolution. The ministers, after a detailed discussion, took note of the Supreme Court order of January 12, 2021, staying the implementation of three farm legislations namely. It also appreciated the peaceful protest by the farmers, in keeping with the best of the democratic practices. Box No decision on moving court Even though the Punjab chief minister had announced last week that the state had already finalised requisite petitions for challenging the central Acts, no decision in this regard was taken in the cabinet meeting. Speaking after the meeting, a minister said, “The view of the cabinet was that the state should act as per the wishes of the farmers’ unions. It was decided that we should only facilitate the protesting farmers in whatever way they want.” “There was no decision on that front in the cabinet meeting as Punjab is already impugned as a party in the matter already before the Supreme Court,” added a senior official. On January 9, Amarinder had said that the state government had finalised requisite petitions for challenging the central Acts and would do so at an opportune time on the advice of legal experts.

The Times of India

2021-01-15

Chandigarh