Updated: September 27, 2020 8:57:17 pm
Women sit on the train track during the ‘rail roko’ protest in the Amritsar village of Devi Dasspura on Sunday (Express photo by RANA SIMRANJIT SINGH)
President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave his consent to the three controversial farm bills passed by Parliament that he has seen farmers and opposition took to the streets in protest and one of the BJP’s oldest allies and founding member of the NDA, the Shiromani Akali Dal, resigning from the ruling coalition in the middle. A notice has been issued in the bulletin in this regard.
The measure comes at a time when farmers, particularly those from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting against all three bills: the Trade in Agricultural and Agricultural Products (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; The Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services Law, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
The president gives his consent to the three #FarmBills :
▪️ Draft Law on Trade in Agricultural Products and Agricultural Products (Promotion and Facilitation), 2020
▪️ Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services Law, 2020
▪️ Essential Commodities Bill (Amendment) 2020 pic.twitter.com/PmjG4jNopC– All radio news from India (@airnewsalerts) September 27, 2020
Calling it a “dark day”, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said the president refused to act on the conscience of the nation. “It is truly a dark day for India that the president has refused to act as the conscience of the nation. We were very hopeful that he would return these bills to Parliament for reconsideration, as demanded by SAD and some other opposition parties, ”Badal said while addressing party workers in Rupnagar.
On Friday, farmers in Haryana and Punjab took to the streets and blocked roads and highways by parking tractor-cars. A group of 31 farmer groups in Punjab have already announced an indefinite “rail roko” protest starting on October 1. On Sunday, farmers also continued to squat on the roads in different parts of the state raising slogans against the BJP-led government while demanding that the bills be rolled back.
His main objection is the first bill, which provides for the creation of a “commercial area” outside the existing mandis of the Agricultural Products Marketing Committee (APMC). While the MSP mechanism is not mentioned in any of the three bills, farmers fear that if the mandi system comes to an end, the MSP will soon follow and they will be “at the mercy” of large corporate entities. The government has maintained that the MSP system will continue.
Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur lead a protest march in the Lambi district of Punjab’s Mukstar district
The president’s approval comes even as leaders of 18 parties approached Kovind last week and urged him not to consent to the bills, arguing that they were passed in a “tyrannical way unknown to our Constitution.” An SAD delegation led by Badal had also met with the president, urging him to return the bills to Parliament for reconsideration.
Quixplained: What are farm bills and why are farmers concerned?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the opposition of “misleading” farmers and “using his shoulders to shoot” his government on farm bills for “selfish political interests,” claiming that for the first time in decades, the Center has crafted laws that will benefit farmers and workers.
On Friday, farmers in Haryana and Punjab took to the streets and blocked roads and highways by parking tractor cars.
Some opposition states such as Punjab, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh have said they would work to ensure that agricultural bills were not implemented in the state. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said on Sunday that a resolution would be tabled at the next Assembly session.
Explained: What is the basis of MSP? How is it fixed and how binding is it?
“We would present a resolution (opposing the farm bills) in the next session of the state assembly and, if necessary, (we) will fight a legal battle against their implementation,” the PTI quoted Baghel as saying.
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