Chandigarh: The Punjab assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution against the Centre’s draft of national policy framework on agricultural marketing, stating that it aimed at promoting private markets and diluting the agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) of the state.
Stating that it is an attempt to bring back the three farm laws repealed by the Centre in 2021 following the farmers’ protest, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators held that the policy undermines the state authority.
Introduced by agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, the resolution said that the House rejected the draft national policy framework on agricultural marketing as it felt that this draft policy was a bid to bring back the contentious provisions of the three farm laws repealed in 2021. The House felt that since it is a state subject, Centre should not come up with any such policy, the resolution added.
Leading the charge against Centre, chief minister Bhagwant Mann said that by implementing the policy, the Centre wants to replicate the three contentious farm laws. Stating that Centre does leave any issue to target Punjab, Mann also referred to the recent US deportations and held that even though there were few Punjabis among the deportees, the US military planes were made to land at Amritsar so as to tarnish Punjab’s name.
Supporting the resolution, leader of opposition (LoP) and senior Congress legislator Partap Singh Bajwa also held that the policy would be fatal for the agriculture in Punjab and that Congress would oppose the same. Accusing BJP of being anti-Punjab, Bajwa went on to allege that the BJP was conspiring to weaken Punjab both economically and politically.
The two BJP MLAs, namely Ashwani Sharma and Jangi Lal Mahajan, were not present in the House when the resolution was passed.
