Farmers Movement Archive

Tamil Nadu assembly passes resolution against 3 farm laws

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu assembly on Saturday passed a resolution urging the Union government to repeal the three contentious farm laws against which farmers have been holding protests for months in Delhi. While members of the AIADMK and the BJP walked out of the assembly before the resolution was put to vote, legislators of the PMK, an NDA ally, the Congress, the VCK, the MDMK, the MMK and the Left supported the motion. Moving the resolution, chief minister M K Stalin said the laws — Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2000, Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 — were enacted by the Centre arbitrarily without consulting the state governments though the sector comes under the control of states. Stalin said the rights of the state governments were affected and federal principles were compromised. In effect, it amounted to collapse of democratic institutions. “As these three acts are not suitable for the country’s agricultural growth and the farmers’ welfare, this legislative assembly unanimously resolves that the Union government should repeal them,” the chief minister said, reading out from the resolution. After the leader of the House, S Durai Murugan insisted, speaker M Appavu announced that the resolution was passed ‘unanimously’ as all the members present in the House passed it by voice vote. The aspiration of the farmers was to get appropriate price for their produce, but none of the three laws spoke about the minimum support price. The laws would result in large-scale reduction of revenue for regulated markets, favour traders rather than farmers, and would result in artificial price hike, the CM said. Former agriculture minister and AIADMK MLA K P Anbalagan said the state government should not pass the resolution in haste. Instead, it should convene an all-party meeting, invite the representatives of farmers’ associations and discuss the pros and cons before taking up the matter with the Centre. Intervening in the debate, deputy leader of the opposition O Panneerselvam said the chief minister had listed out only the disadvantages and sought to know if the CM or the agriculture minister had approached the Union government and received any reply. “A delegation of legislature parties could visit the Prime Minister and seek explanation on the advantages and disadvantages,” OPS said, indicating that it would help understand the nitty-gritty of the issue and the effects in the long-run. When Durai Murugan said the laws were enacted by the Centre when the AIADMK was in power in the state and sought to know if the AIADMK was supporting or opposing the resolution, Panneerselvam said that Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of the laws and therefore there was a need to consult legal experts on the resolution. Durai Murugan denied that the matter was subjudice. The chief minister said the resolution moved by him had a mention that it was being passed unanimously as he was hopeful that the opposition would support it. To this, Panneerselvam said the state or central governments would not be able to take any action since the court was seized of the matter and any decision should be taken based on the outcome of the court case. “We have a responsibility to take exemplary decisions. Let this subject be sent to a select committee,” OPS said. Stalin questioned the AIADMK’s reluctance to take a stand against the farm laws when some of the state assemblies had already passed resolutions against them. Reacting to Panneeerselvam, who wanted the chief minister to discuss with the Prime Minister and Union agriculture minister, Stalin said that he had spoken about the matter with the Prime Minister during his last visit to Delhi, but there was no reply. Stalin said he was humbly reiterating his plea to the opposition to support the resolution. When the AIADMK legislators walked out and resumed their seats within minutes, Durai Murugan requested Appavu to expunge certain remarks he had made on OPS and his son and LS MP, O P Raveendranath since it would hurt the former CM. OPS thanked Durai Murugan. PMK floor leader G K Mani said the Central laws created panic among the farmers and that should be resolved. Later, industries minister Thangam Thennarasu told reporters that the AIADMK had committed a blunder and betrayed the farmers. Their walk-out exposed their double standard, he said.

The Times of India

2021-08-29

Chennai