Farmers Movement Archive

Rajasthan assembly passes 3 farm bills

The Rajasthan assembly on Monday passed three bills by a voice vote after an eight-hour debate to counter new farms laws cleared by Parliament, following in the footsteps of the Congress-ruled Punjab and Chhattisgarh.The bills fail to assure the minimum support price (MSP) for major crops sold at agriculture produce mandis or bought by private players, contrary to Punjab’s bills. The MSP assurance was provided for contract farming. That too for just seven crops. However, like Punjab, Rajasthan provides for three to seven years of imprisonment for harassing farmers.Harassment will be treated as committed when the trader does not accept the delivery of the farm produce agreed upon or, having accepted the delivery, does not make the payment to the farmer in accordance with the terms of the agreement or within three days from the date of receipt of delivery of goods, whichever is earlier. Parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal introduced The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2020; and The Essential Commodities (Special Provisions and Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2020. Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members walked out as the bills were passed.However, the bills become law only after the Governor’s assent, who may withhold and decide to refer them to the President. Political commentator Avadhesh Akodia said that Article 254(2) of the Constitution allows a state to make changes to central legislation on a subject on the concurrent list only if it gets Presidential assent. Several BJP leaders also said that the state government did not have a right to make amendment to central laws. Parliament recently enacted farm laws deregulating the sale of agriculture produce, a move the central government said was needed to usher in reforms in the farm sector. Several farmer unions and the opposition Congress claimed that the move will lead to the dismantling of the MSP system.During the debate on the bills, leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said the central laws were enacted after taking into account recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission, which talked about one nation, one market; contract farming; and abolition of indirect mandi taxes.“Farmers were free to sell their produce anywhere in the country and you are saying that you have freed them. You have worked to handover agriculture mandis directly into the hands of corporate houses,” Dhariwal said. Kisan mahapanchayat president Rampal Jat said the state government should make MSP mandatory for every sale and purchase of crops in the mandis too

Hindustan Times

03-11-2020

India