NEW DELHI: With the only BJP MLA abstaining from voting, the Kerala assembly on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution demanding withdrawal of three agricultural laws. With this, Kerala became the fifth state in the country to pass a resolution in their respective assemblies to oppose agricultural laws.
Before Kerala, four states, all of them not governed by the BJP, passed resolutions opposing farm laws. While three of them … Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan – are ruled by the Congress, the fourth – Delhi, is governed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Supreme and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The prime minister of Delhi sparked a controversy by breaking copies of the agricultural laws during the special session.
These are the key developments of the day:
1. Expressing solidarity with the agitated farmers in Delhi, the Kerala assembly unanimously passed a resolution demanding the immediate withdrawal of the three contentious core laws, saying they were “anti-farmers” and “pro-corporate” and would push for the farming community to a deep crisis. Moving the resolution, Prime Minister Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that core laws have been amended to help corporations. The center had introduced and passed the three agricultural laws in Parliament at a time when the agricultural sector is facing a serious crisis, he said. “The three controversial agricultural laws were passed even without sending them to the standing committee of Parliament. If this turmoil continues, it will severely affect Kerala, which is a consuming state,” he said.
2. In a rare gesture, not only the legislators from the ruling CPI (M)-led LDF party and the Congress-led UDF, but also the only BJP member in the 140-member state assembly, O Rajagopal, too they supported the resolution against the center. , saying “it is the democratic spirit”. However, he later issued a statement in which he stated that he opposed the resolution of the state government. Initially, Rajagopal objected to some of the references in the resolution, which was presented in a special session of almost two hours convened in compliance with the COVID-19 protocols. He first told the media that he “did not oppose the general consensus” in the Kerala assembly regarding agricultural laws, later issued a statement stating that he argued that the central government He was always willing to dialogue and “opposed the resolution” adopted by the assembly. “I have strongly opposed the resolution against agricultural laws in the assembly today. I did not oppose the central government. I said that agricultural laws were very beneficial to farmers. When the ruling and opposition MLAs claimed that the Prime Minister was not negotiating with farmers, he argued that the central government was always ready for talks, “Rajagopal said in a statement. “I said that the peasant unions oppose dialogue only after withdrawing the agrarian laws is the reason that the protests continue for a long time. The statements that I am against the central government are unfounded,” he added. Rajagopal, who is an MLA from the Nemom constituency in Thiruvananthapuram, said Congress had previously included similar farm laws in its manifesto. Earlier, speaking to the media after the assembly session, Rajagopal said that he abstained from voting and did not oppose the resolution because people do not need to know these differences of opinion. “I support this resolution. During the discussion, I opposed certain references made in the resolution against farm laws, but I do not oppose the general consensus reached by the House against farm laws,” he said.
3. Haryana police used water cannons and tear gas when farmers in truck trailers broke through barricades on Shahjahanpur’s border with Rajasthan, trying to advance towards the national capital. As farmers in about 25 tractor-trailers passed Haryana police barriers, others stayed on the Rajasthan side of the Shahjahanpur-Rewari border, police said. Peasant leaders at the site made it clear that the protesters who forced their way into Haryana did not have their consent.
4. Thousands of farmers protesting on the Singhu border for more than a month will now ring in the New Year without any celebration. “There is no New Year for us until the government agrees to our demands,” said Harjinder Singh of Ropar in Punjab, who has been camping on the Delhi-Haryana border since November 25. In the latest round of talks on Wednesday, the government addressed farmers’ concerns about rising electricity rates and penalties for burning stubble, but that was not good news to celebrate yet, farmers said. . Among the issues that remain unresolved are the repeal of the new agricultural laws and a legal guarantee of the minimum price of sustenance for their crops. “The two demands that they agreed to were not yet laws. Their impact had not yet been felt. And we went to the government with the demands clearly. They cannot choose what suits them. They have to listen to all of our demands,” said Harmesh Singh, a farmer from Hoshiarpur in Punjab. “If the government wants to see our strength, we will show it to them. People like us who are used to living in ‘kothis’ (bungalows) now sleep on the road. We have been protesting peacefully for a month, too we can keep protesting for a year, “added Bhupinder Singh, also from Hoshiarpur. Most of this year’s farmers will welcome the New Year away from their families, but they are not complaining.
5. Thousands of farmers remained at their protest sites near the Delhi border as their talks with the government remained stalled on the main contentious issues of the repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee for the MSP. Facing the winter cold, farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, protest at various borders in the national capital for more than a month against these three new laws. Security remained tight at the Delhi borders with hundreds of personnel deployed at the Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri border points where farmers have been camping. The protests also caused traffic congestion that forced the police to divert the movement of vehicles. Via Twitter, the Delhi Traffic Police alerted travelers to routes that remained closed due to unrest and suggested they take alternative routes. “The borders of Tikri, Dhansa are closed for any traffic movement. Jhatikara Borders is only open for LMVs (cars / light motor vehicles), two-wheelers and pedestrian movement, ”he tweeted. “The borders of Chilla and Ghazipur are closed to traffic coming from Noida and Ghaziabad to Delhi due to protests from farmers. Take the alternative route to reach Delhi via Anand Vihar, DND, Apsara, Bhopra and Loni Borders. “The borders of Singhu, Auchandi, Piau Maniyari, Saboli and Mangesh are closed. Take the alternative route through the school toll tax borders of Lampur Safiabad, Palla and Singhu. Traffic has been diverted from the Mukarba and GTK highway. Avoid Outer Ring Road, GTK Road and NH-44, ”they tweeted. “The open borders available to Haryana are Jharoda (single carriageway / single road), Daurala, Kapashera, Badusarai, Rajokri NH-8, Bijwasan / Bajghera, Palam Vihar and Dundahera Borders,” Delhi traffic police said in a tweet.
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