Terming the passage of three farm bills in Parliament “unconstitutional”, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday said a resolution opposing them will be brought in the next session of the Assembly.
Addressing a press conference here, Baghel also said a legal battle will be fought against implementation of these bills, if needed.
He said the Centre brought these bills through the “backdoor” at a time when the country was fighting the coronavirus pandemic and the media is busy with coverage of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case.
“We would bring a resolution (opposing the farm bills) in the next state assembly session, and if required, (we) will fight a legal battle against their implementation,” he said.
Baghel said the state Congress government was committed to protect the interest of farmers.
“The Centre does not have the power to legislate upon agriculture, which is a state subject. The three bills passed in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are unconstitutional and are in violation of the federal structure,” Baghel said.
He said these bills were drafted on the basis of a report of the Shanta Kumar Committee which is “anti-farmer, anti-poor and only meant to support corporate houses“.
Farmers in many states are protesting against the passage of the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
On its part, the BJP-led Centre has dismissed concerns over the Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime and termed the farm bills historic.
Citing the Shanta Kumar committee report, Baghel expressed apprehensions that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) might cease to exist in the near future and farmers would not get the benefit of MSP for their crops.
He accused the Centre of speaking lies and misleading farmers on the farm bills.
“A conspiracy is on through contract farming to hand over the lands of farmers to corporate houses,” Baghel alleged.
He also slammed the Centre over labour reform bills, saying they are not in the interest of workers.
When queried about the media coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput case, Baghel said, “50 gram of ganja (marijuana) recovered there and the entire country rallied behind it, and in our state, police have been seizing 10 quintals of the contraband daily but no discussion held over it.
“A 50 gram recovery is being discussed in the national media and recovery to the tune of a quintal (is discuseed) in the state media,” he said.
“It is not the NCB’s (Narcotics Control Bureau) job to seize 50 gram of ganja, but it is the job of a thanedar (station house officer),” he added.