Congress president Sonia Gandhi has directed Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Pudducherry Chief Ministers to explore the possibility of passing laws to override the three agricultural laws passed recently by Parliament.
A statement issued by party general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said that these States have been told to pass laws under Article 254 (2) of the Constitution that allows State legislatures to pass law to negate the “Anti-Agriculture” Central laws encroaching upon the States’ jurisdiction under the Constitution.
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Article 254 (2) of the Constitution essentially enables a State government to pass a law, on any subject in the Concurrent List, that may contradict a Central law, provided it
“This would enable the States to bypass the unacceptable anti-farmers provisions in the three draconian Agricultural laws including the abolition of MSP and disruption of APMCs in Congress ruled states. This would also alleviate the farmers from the grave injustice done by the Modi Government and BJP,” the statement said.
The
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Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel too had recently said his government would take legal steps to ensure that private players did not get entry into the agriculture sector. At least 40 per cent of paddy production in Chattisgarh is procured by the Food Corporation of India for the Central pool. And unlike Punjab and Haryana, where farmers have large land holdings, 86% of Chhattisgarh’s land holdings are of less than 5 acres.
Also read: Protests against farm laws hit normal life in Punjab
Option of moving SC
The Congress is still weighing its options on moving the Supreme Court against The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance & Farm Services Bill, 2020, and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
In an interview with The Hindu , Rajya Sabha member and senior party leader Abhishek Singhvi had said, “Certainly all options are open. I believe it strikes at the heart of federalism, which has been held repeatedly to be part of the basic structure from Keshavanada Bharati to Bommai judgements. Therefore, you have not heard the end of the story yet.”