Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked the Congress-ruled States to use the provisions in Article 254(2) of the Constitution to negate the three farm laws. According to the Congress, such a move will help the farmers in Congress-ruled States by bypassing the Centre’s legislations.

For instance, Punjab witnessed huge protests against the three laws, and the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had also announced that he will approach the Supreme Court against the laws.

‘Bypass farm laws’

AICC general secretary in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal said in a statement that Sonia advised the Congress-ruled States to explore the possibilities to pass laws in their respective States under Article 254(2) of the Constitution to pass a law to negate “the anti-agriculture Central laws encroaching upon State’s jurisdiction under the Constitution.”

Venugopal said such a move would enable the States to bypass the unacceptable anti-farmers’ provisions of the three draconian laws including the abolition of MSP and disruption of APMCs. “This would also alleviate farmers the grave injustice done by the Narendra Modi Government and BJP,” he added.

Congress Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh said that late Arun Jaitley, as finance minister, had got the States to resort to Article 254(2) of the Constitution to override provisions of Land Acquisition Act, which was passed with the BJP’s support in Parliament in 2013. “States should now follow the same advice to undo the damage caused by the Farm Acts,” Ramesh said.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the agriculture laws are a death sentence to our farmers. “Their voice is crushed in Parliament and outside,” he said. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury criticised the hurry in passing the Bills as President signed the Bills on September 24 and 26. “Ignoring massive protests by farmers, sanctioning violation of parliamentary procedures, bypassing entire opposition demand to return these Bills, President ratified them a day before all India protests. Tearing hurry to permit agri businesses to loot India,” Yechury said. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal also criticised the President for signing the Bills.