Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Saturday adopted a special resolution opposing the three central farm laws amidst a walkout by the AIADMK and BJP, while ally PMK voted in favour.
Chief Minister M K Stalin moved a resolution against the central farm laws enacted last year and argued that the Centre had enacted them arbitrarily without consulting the States much against the federal principles.
According to the resolution, The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 were “not suitable” for agricultural development and farmers’ welfare. It therefore urged the Centre to repeal them.
The AIADMK, however, favoured sending a delegation of legislators to meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to highlight the unacceptable provisions. It opposed the resolution citing that cases against the farm laws were pending before the Supreme Court.
However, Stalin insisted that the Union government arbitrarily enacted the laws ignoring that Agriculture was also a State subject. Not consulting the States therefore was against “federal principles” and these laws had to be rejected.
“The principle of federalism is being challenged. The greatness of democratic institutions is demolished. Hence, these three farm laws have to be rejected,” CM Stalin said.
The government also announced that it would withdraw cases registered against members of farmer associations and political parties when they had held protests against the three laws.
