September 18, 2020 12:04:57 pm
The leader of Congress and former Minister of Finance, P Chidambaram. (Photo / File Express)
Congressional leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram said on Friday that protests by farmers and the passage of two contentious agricultural laws in Lok Sabha captured the “distance between the people and the government.” On Twitter, the former finance minister said that the Center’s agricultural policy, which was drawn up without consulting the states, was “a major blow from the BJP government to state rights and federalism.”
The Lok Sabha approved on Thursday the draft Agricultural Products Trade and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill of 2020, and the Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services Act of 2020, through a voice vote.
Chidambaram said the bills challenged all three pillars of India’s food safety system: the minimum price support (MSP), public procurement and the public distribution system (PDS). He said it was a serious flaw that the bills did not guarantee that farmers received more money than the MSP.
“The two Ordinances challenge the three pillars of our still flawed ‘food safety system.’ They are (1) MSP; (2) public procurement; and (3) PDS… The serious flaw of the Ordinances is that they do not stipulate that the price received by the farmer ‘will not be less than the MSP,’ ”Chidambaram tweeted.
He added: “Tamil Nadu farmers have told me that they are selling rice at Rs 850 to private traders against an MSP of Rs 1,150. The state government must explain it. “
The two Ordinances challenge the three pillars of our still imperfect ‘food safety system’. They are (1) MSP; (2) public procurement; and (3) PDS
– P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 18, 2020
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, moving the bills to the Lower House on Thursday, said they were aimed at making agriculture profitable and clarified that these bills would have no impact on the MSP mechanism. In addition, he assured that these legislations would not invade the laws of the Agricultural Products Marketing Committee (APMC) of the states.
The protests have broken out ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament that started on Monday. (Photo Express)
In protest of the approval of agricultural laws, Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned as Union Minister of Food Processing Industries on Thursday. “I have resigned from the Union Cabinet in protest against ordinances and legislation against farmers. Proud to support farmers like their daughter and sister, ”the SAD leader tweeted.
In their speech during a discussion on two of the agricultural bills, MP Lok Sabha and SAD Chairman Sukhbir Singh Badal said the proposed laws would “destroy” the 50 years of hard work done by successive governments in Punjab to build the agricultural sector.
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Farmers in Punjab and Haryana has been protesting against three ordinances promulgated by the Center on June 5. (Don’t miss Explained: What are these ordinances and why are farmers protesting?)
Read also | Punjab Cong MLA resigns from Vidhan Sabha after LS eliminates Bills: ‘Black day’
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