Punjab CM to stage sit-in against farm laws today

A day after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the three contentious farm bills, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh will hold a sit-in against the legislations at Khatkar Kalan, the birthplace of revolutionary leader Bhagat Singh, on Monday (September 28).

Singh on Sunday had tweeted that his government is exploring all opinions including amendments to state laws to protest farmers from any negative impact of the bills.

“We are already consulting with legal and agricultural experts, and all those impacted by the central government’s calamitous legislations, to decide of the future course of action,” he said in a statement.

Singh’s sit in comes on a day when irate protesters set a tractor on fire near India Gate in New Delhi.

The passage of the three farm bills – Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill – by Parliament has led to intense protests by farmers in several parts of the country, especially in the agrarian states of Punjab and Haryana.

Farmers in Punjab have been staging a rail roko since last week, disrupting freight services. On Sunday, the Akali Dal, BJP’s oldest ally pulled out of the NDA over the passage of the bills.

While the government assures that the legislations will empower farmers and enable them to sell produce to anyone and at competitive prices, farmers fear the laws will do away with the minimum support price of produce and empower multinationals.