Even the only dissenter, O Rajagopal of the BJP, did not vote against the resolution.
Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala’s Legislative Assembly today unanimously passed a resolution seeking the withdrawal of the three controversial agricultural laws hastily enacted by parliament in September. Increasing the state’s fears about the effects of the prolonged tumult on the country’s agricultural sector, the resolution said that “Kerala could not withstand the impact of such a situation,” particularly amid the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. The new farm laws have sparked a furious onslaught of protests among farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other states that has yet to abate.
“There should be a system in which agricultural products are purchased by the central government and distributed to the needy at fair prices. Instead, it has allowed companies to take over the trade in agricultural products. The Center is shirking its responsibility to provide fair prices to farmers, “Vijayan said, introducing the resolution in the House.
“If these protests continue, they will seriously affect Kerala. If agricultural products stop reaching a consuming state like Kerala, the state will be pushed into starvation,” he said.
Farmers, the Chief Minister said, are concerned about losing the current support price, which could leave them weakened in bargaining power in the face of the strength of corporate entities.
“Taking all this into account, the Kerala Legislative Assembly calls on the central government to cancel these three agricultural laws and accept the demands of the farmers,” Vijayan said, referring to his ongoing protest as “historic.”
Interestingly, a key argument of protesting farmers, the long-standing system of India’s Agricultural Products Market Committee (APMC), which was primarily aimed at ensuring the financial security of farmers, is not followed in Kerala. The state has an alternative system that involves horticultural establishments and fruit and vegetable promotion boards.
However, the resolution was approved by the House unanimously, and the only member of the BJP, O Rajagopal, despite being the only dissenter, did not object during the vote. “There are some people here who want to blame Prime Minister Modi for everything and anything,” Rajagopal said while debating the measure.
The opposition of the United Democratic Front, led by Congress, backed the protesting farmers. “The prime minister speaks on television and criticizes the farmers. He should have called the farmers and talked to them. I salute our farmers,” said former Minister of State KC Joseph from Congress.
The opposition today presented three minor amendments to the resolution, one of which was accommodated by the government.
Today’s Kerala House resolution comes to the end of much drama between the left-led state government and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.
Governor Khan had previously refused to convene the special session on December 23 to discuss the contentious laws, saying that Prime Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had not addressed the question posed by him about the nature of the emergency justifying the short session.
This unprecedented measure was considered completely outside the purview of the governor, since, constitutionally, the governor is bound by the decisions made by the council of ministers.
On December 24, the state cabinet sent another recommendation to convene the Assembly, and this time the one-hour special session received the go-ahead from Khan, although the government had to issue some clarifications that he had requested.
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