The AICC legal team last week drafted a model law for states to refer to to approve relevant legislation in their respective assemblies.
“The states ruled by Congress will soon convene an assembly session to override the central agricultural laws,” said a party source.
The top ministers of Congress ruled Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Puducherry have already made it clear that they will not implement the core agricultural laws in their respective jurisdictions.
They also said they will get a new bill in their state assemblies to overturn these laws.
Congress strongly opposes all three pieces of legislation and has launched nationwide protests against them.
The president of Congress, Sonia Gandhi, had recently advised the states governed by the party to pass laws in their respective assemblies under article 254 (2) of the Constitution.
Congress asserts that the rules under Article 245 (2) allow the state legislature to enforce laws “repugnant to the law of parliament,” a provision previously used by the BJP against the UPA-enacted Land Acquisition Act.
The sources said that while the states governed by Congress are ready to pass the law, some of the states not governed by NDA are likely to pass it as well, as they oppose core agricultural laws.
Parliament had passed the Agricultural Trade and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020, the Agricultural Price Guarantee and Services Agreement for Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) 2020, and Essential Commodities (Amendment ). Bill 2020 during the Monsoon Session and the president gave his consent for them.
The laws seek to liberalize the agricultural sector and allow farmers to sell their products anywhere in the country.
The model law brought by Congress will declare “null, void, and inoperative” everything that is incompatible in the three central legislations with state law.
It will also include a provision to ensure that no farmer is paid below the minimum price support for the price of the product.
The draft model law seeks to guarantee safeguards for farmers, including the minimum support price regime and the framework of the APMC Law to protect their interests.
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