CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Assembly unanimously passed a resolution against the Union Government’s draft National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing, stating that it is an attempt to reintroduce the three farm laws repealed by the Centre in 2020-21 after widespread farmer protests.
The policy was unanimously rejected by the House in the Vidhan Sabha, with MLAs from across all parties rejecting it. The two BJP MLAs, Ashwani Sharma and Jangi Lal Mahajan, were not present during the two-hour discussion on the policy.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led the charge against the Centre over the latter's alleged anti-farmer policies during the discussion on the resolution brought by the state's Aam Aadmi Party government to reject the Draft National Policy on Agricultural Marketing.
Introducing the resolution, state agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian said, “The 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 The House feels that this draft policy is an attempt to bring back the contentious provisions of the three farm laws repealed in 2021 by the Government of India after a long protest by farmers."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,” he added.
Speaking on the resolution, CM Mann said that the central government 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 does not 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,” CM Mann said.
While rejecting the policy, MLAs from both treasury and opposition benches said that bringing a policy on agriculture marketing, which is a state subject, is interference by the Centre and against the spirit of the Constitution.
They added that the broad spirit of the policy is to promote private markets and to significantly dilute the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) markets, so as to eventually make them irrelevant.
Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa lent support for the resolution brought by the government. He said that the draft of the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing is going to be fatal for the farming sector of Punjab, and the Punjab Congress is prepared to support the Punjab government against the same.
“The Punjab Congress will do anything to defend the interests of Punjab. We don't even shy away from fighting together with the Punjab government to protect the rights and causes of Punjab,” Bajwa added.
Terming the BJP as the anti-Punjab party, Bajwa said that 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, he said.
“The saffron party has been conspiring to undermine the farming sector for a long time. During the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-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 is still pursuing the same,” Bajwa added.
