Raj govt introduces 3 Bills to counter Centre's farm laws

Jaipur: The Rajasthan government on Saturday introduced three Bills in the Assembly to negate the impact of the farm laws enacted by the Centre recently.

The move comes after the Punjab Assembly earlier this month adopted a resolution against the farm laws and unanimously passed four Bills to counter the Centre's contentious legislations.

The Chhattisgarh assembly also approved the Chhattisgarh Krishi Upaj Mandi (Amendment) Bill 2020 that declared the entire state as a market for selling agriculture produce to "protect" its farmers from the Centre's farm laws.

Rajasthan's Parliamentary Affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal introduced the Essential Commodities (Special Provisions and Rajasthan Amendment) Bill 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill 2020 and the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation and Rajasthan Amendment) Bill 2020.

He also introduced the Code of Procedure (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill 2020 on the first day of the Assembly session.

A number of provisions to protect the interests of farmers, including sale or purchase of a crop under farming agreement on a price equal or greater than minimum support price and imprisonment of three to seven years for harassment of farmers, have been included in the Bills.

The Congress leadership has suggested that states where it is in power should pass laws of their own to counter the central legislations that had triggered farmers' protests in several parts of the country.

In the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, a provision states, "Provided further that no Farming Agreement for the sale or purchase of a crop shall be valid unless the price paid for such agricultural produce is equal to, or greater than, the prevailing Minimum Support Prices, announced by the Central Government for that crop".

The Bill proposes punishment of imprisonment from three to seven years with or without a fine of Rs five lakh if any person, company or corporate house or any other association or body of persons harasses farmers.