The Kerala government is exploring legal options against the controversial farm Bills which were passed recently by the two Houses of Parliament, informed the state’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday. The two controversial Bills — the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 — were passed by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha last week.
"At our Cabinet meeting, there was a discussion on whether legal steps can be initiated. That is now being looked into and once it's done, a decision will be taken," said Vijayan.
The Kerala Cabinet has tasked the Law department to explore the legal options before them.
The Chief minister told the media that the idea to challenge the newly passed law came up as a suggestion during the Cabinet meeting. The Kerala Cabinet has termed the contentious laws as a ‘gross violation of states’ powers’ and a ‘blatant serious transgression of Constitutional norms,’ reported the Hindu Business Line.
Two Members of Parliament from Kerala, belonging to the CPI(M), Elamaram Kareem and K K Ragesh, are among the eight MPs who were suspended by the Rajya Sabha for ruckus within the house when the Bill was passed through a voice vote. The opposition MPs had called for a division of votes. The suspended MPs even held an overnight sit-in protest outside the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Meanwhile, state Congress chief Mullapally Ramachandran on Wednesday termed the statement of the Kerala government about taking legal steps against the farm Bills as a ‘bluff’.
"The government has done nothing for the farmers besides making juicy promises. The state witnessed two major floods, but even after two years, the farmers have not received the compensation promised to them," said Ramachandran.
Incidentally, in January this year, Kerala became the first state in the country to file a suit in the Supreme Court against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, following which other states also followed suit.