Farmers Movement Archive

Haryana law secretary favours tabling of MSP guarantee Bill

Even as the Haryana assembly speaker had last week rejected the private member’s Bill guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) to farmers, the state government’s law and legislative secretary had advised in favour of tabling the private member’s Bill.The private member’s Bill was submitted by Congress MLAs to amend the Haryana Agricultural Produce Markets Act, thereby ensuring dispensation of MSP to farmers under a legal framework.The grounds taken by the speaker to disallow tabling of the amendment Bill were that the intent of the legislation is to amend the central farm laws and the Supreme Court has stayed implementation of the central laws.However, Haryana’s law and legislative secretary-cum-legal remembrancer (LR), in its advice of February 17, had said that from a legal point of view it will be necessary to embark upon legislation as the purpose in view cannot be achieved otherwise.The advice by the law and legislative secretary was tendered in relation to four points mentioned in Rule 36 of Rules of Business of the state government. The law and legislative secretary said the subject matter of the proposed legislation is relatable to entry 14 of the state list in the seventh schedule to the Constitution and the state legislature is, thus, competent to enact the proposed measure. It is not a money bill, the advice said.Entry 14 of the state list pertained to agriculture, including agricultural education and research, protection against pests and prevention of plant diseases.The advice also said that it will be necessary to reserve the Bill for the consideration of the president after it is passed by the state legislature as required under the Article 254 (2) of the Constitution (inconsistency between laws made by the Parliament and laws made by the state legislatures).The law and legislative secretary also advised that the proposed measure would not be inconsistent with the Constitutional provisions including those relating to fundamental rights.Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Rohtak MLA BB Batra said that the amendment being sought by them was for a state law enacted by the Vidhan Sabha which is the competent forum to amend it.Batra, on Tuesday, again raised the matter in the assembly saying the speaker had used a hyper technical ground for rejecting the amendment Bill.“When the law secretary has favoured the Bill, the government should have tabled it. It could have then sent it for presidential assent. You could have also asked us to amend it further,’’ the Congress MLAs said.Referring to JJP legislator Jogi Ram Sihag’s demand for enactment of a state law to ensure minimum support price for every crop, Batra said even BJP’s ally JJP is supporting this Bill.

Hindustan Times

10-03-2021

Chandigarh