On Wednesday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had been asked by Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal to immediately declare the entire state of Punjab as a principal market yard for agricultural produce so that the centre’s latest laws on agricultural marketing do not apply in the state. The bills on regulation of agro-marketing passed by both the houses by parliament after they receive Presidential assent are set to become laws. Badal’s proposition came in this urgent context.

In a written statement Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Wednesday, that this is the best, the quickest and the most effective way for Punjab to pre-empt the application of centre’s latest anti-farmers Acts in the state because the Center’s Acts do not and will not apply to principal market yards declared by any state government. Therefore, he stressed that the Punjab government must act without delay. The central government has the power to identify the entire state as a principal market yard, sub-market yard and market sub-yards.

The present acts’ provision by the centre exempts these yards or marked areas from the jurisdiction of the legislation. Badal added that, if the whole state gets declared as a principal market yard by the Punjab government, the centre’s acts will automatically be rendered infructuous in the state and will not apply in any part of the state. As a result, there will be the same competition for private players who enter the market, under the same set of laws as applicable to state procurement. The SAD president further added that in the event of the failure of (Captain) Amarinder Singh to revoke these amendments, the SAD will revoke these in the first cabinet meeting when they form a government in the state.

Punjab Advocate General Atul Nanda stated that farmers’ interests are paramount to the state government and that the Chief Minister will shortly unveil what he has in his mind. Captain Amarinder Singh has a much larger vision for the farmers of the state.

Badal added that the SAD will never allow these Acts to apply to Punjab. He further stressed that the acts will not be allowed to be implemented in Punjab irrespective of the required steps the SAD has to take or the price that have to be paid. SAD further added in their statements that if Captain Amarinder Singh does not do it today, he would be exposing the Punjab farmers to exploitation by private corporate sharks. The CM must do it preferably today itself so that the centre does not get an opportunity to enforce these new laws in Punjab by inserting a sub-section to ensure the retrospective effect as stated by Badal.

The amendments which Chief Minister brought into the state, especially the APMC Act, have provisions which are identical to the centre’s Acts which Captain Singh claims to oppose. Badal asked the chief minister to abolish them describing them as a strange development. The Chief Minister first implemented the same Acts in his state, which he now claims to oppose in the Central legislations. The only difference between the provisions of the Punjab Act and centre’s Acts is that the Acts passed by the Parliament are applicable throughout the country while Amarinder’s APMC Act amendments apply only in Punjab.

Badal commented that the Congress government in the state needs to come clean on this suicidal contradiction for Punjab and to revoke the amendments enacted by it. He further added that if Amarinder refuses to revoke his amendments, this would show where he exactly stands with regards to the centre’s Act.

Identical request made by Congress MP Bajwa

Punjab government has also been requested by Congress Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa to amend the Punjab APMC Act, to expand the geographical boundary of “market yards” to cover the entire state to circumvent Centre’s recent farm legislations.

Bajwa wrote a letter to CM Amarinder Singh in which he pointed out that it must be noted that the Government of India in Chapter 1 of the Bill, specifically Clause 2(m), defined ‘trade area’ as any area or location that does not include the physical boundaries of principal market yards, sub-market yards and market sub-yards managed and run by the market committees formed under each state APMC Act in force in India.

Bajwa had added in the letter that due to the clause 2(m), the state government of Rajasthan has notified all warehouses of the Food Corporation of India as procurement centres under the State APMC Act. He urged the Punjab CM to do the same to prevent implementation of the central laws.