Punjab Assembly passes resolution rejecting Centre’s draft on agricultural marketing

Chandigarh: Amidst the absence of BJP’s two legislators in the 117-member house, the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution against the Centre’s draft National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing, terming it an “attempt to bring back the three farm laws repealed by the Centre in 2021 following widespread farmer protests”.

The resolution, moved by Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian and supported by the main Opposition Congress, said: “This House rejects the draft National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing. The House feels that this draft policy is an attempt to bring back the contentious provisions of the three farm laws repealed in 2021 by the government of India after a long protest by farmers.”

“The house feels since this issue is a state subject, according to the Constitution, the Centre should not come up with any such policy and should leave it to the wisdom of the states to frame suitable policies on the subject according to its concerns and requirements.”

In his remarks on the resolution, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that “by implementing the policy, the Centre wants to replicate the three controversial farm laws through other means”.

“Be it the issue of Rural Development Fund (RDF) or any other issue concerning the state, the Centre doesn’t leave any issue to target Punjab. The most recent example is the issue of Indians being deported from the US. Even though few Punjabis were among the deportees, the US military planes were made to land at Amritsar so that only Punjab’s name gets tarnished,” said Mann, who was donning sunglasses in the Assembly owing to an “eye infection”.

Supporting the cause of the protesting farmers and favouring the motion, Renewal Energy Minister Aman Arora urged farmer unions agitating at Shambhu and Khanauri borders to open the inter-state highways “as their closure, the lifelines of Punjab, has resulted in adverse impact on the industry and trade”.

“While the entire House supports the farmer agitation going on at Shambhu and Khanauri borders, it is a matter of grave concern that because of the closure of these roads, industrial orders worth crores are being cancelled. If the blockades continue, our industry and trade will be affected and ultimately, it will impact the state’s economy,” he said.

Terming the BJP an “anti-Punjab party”, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said the “BJP is hell-bent on weakening Punjab both economically and politically. The BJP only serves the interests of multinational companies and big corporations and is least bothered about working for the interests of farmers and other unprivileged sections”.

“The BJP has been conspiring to undermine the farming sector for a long time. During the Atal Bihari Vajpai-led BJP government, the Shanta Kumar Commission on Agriculture recommended dismantling the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The BJP government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi still pursuing the same,” the Congress leader said.

He also slammed the AAP government for its failure to defend the case against the Union government in the Supreme Court to get the RDF of Rs 8,000 crore.

“If Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann takes the lead to safeguard the interests of Punjab, we can even join them in protests at the residence of PM Modi to get the pending RDF,” Bajwa added.

IANS