Ready To Hold Assembly To Bypass Farm Acts: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday assured farmers of all possible legal and other steps to fight the new farm laws including a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to discuss the way forward.

Chairing a meeting with representatives of 31 farmer unions to take their views on the matter, the Chief Minister said he would be discussing the issue with his legal team to finalise the next steps, including challenging the farm laws in the Supreme Court.

“We will take all possible steps to counter the Union Government’s assault on the state’s federal and constitutional rights, and fight for the interests of the farmers,” he said.

If the legal experts advise amendment to the state laws to fight the central laws, a special session of the assembly will be immediately called to do so, he said.

He made it clear that the government had no qualms about convening an Assembly session if that was the best course in the circumstances. However, he trashed SAD president Sukhbir Badal’s demand for a special assembly session “as cheap gimmickry after their active support to the central laws for months”.

“If they were so concerned about the farmers’ interests, why did Harsimrat Badal not resign from the Union Cabinet the moment the Farm Ordinances were brought in by the Centre?” he asked.

Declaring that his government and the Punjab Congress was with the farmers in this ‘aukhi ghari’ (difficult time), Captain Amarinder Singh said he would take the suggestions of the farmer organisations and legal experts to finalise the next course of action.

He said the new laws will entail the end of time-tested “farming procurement and marketing system as we know it”.

The mandis that have existed and worked well for more than 60 years will be wiped out and with MSP also end, he said. (ANI)