DMK MP Tiruchi Siva approaches Supreme Court against farm legislation

New Delhi [India], October 1 : Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Tiruchi Siva on Wednesday approached Supreme Court against the Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020.
Siva, Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu, said Bills have been hastily passed in the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) without having an adequate discussion on it and in violation of "Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States".
The Act is not a progressive piece of legislation, the plea said, adding that "in fact, the implementation of the impugned Acts in their current form will spell disaster for the farming community by operating a parallel market which is unregulated and gives enough room for exploitation of the farmers' community by the concentration of power in the hands of a few corporates/individuals. Thus the provisions of the impugned acts are manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, whimsical and highly arbitrary."
"The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 provides for contract farming, under which farmers will produce crops as per the contracts entered into with the corporate investors for a mutually agreed remuneration. However, considering the literacy level of the vulnerable farmers in the country, there will always be a possibility that powerful investors would bind them to unfavourable contracts with strict liability clauses that would be beyond the understanding of poor farmers," the plea said.
It said that Centre lacks the legislative power to bring such enactment and in the garb of reforms, has pushed forth an "ill-thought-out piece of legislation, wrought with presumptive follies".
Earlier, Congress leader TN Prathapan, MP from Thrissur constituency, Kerala has also moved the top court challenging against the Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act.
The plea filed by the Congress MP has said the Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act has been hastily passed without having an adequate discussion on it, that a bare reading of its provisions will reveal that it is not a progressive piece of legislation.
It has said, "Certain sections/provisions of the Act are in fact against the basic structure of the Constitution and fundamental rights of the farmers as it puts them in a position wherein if any dispute arises, the farmer will be running towards the already overburdened bureaucracy for a remedy instead of getting an effective and permanent solution to his problem in a court of law."
This Act also fails to establish farmer-centric courts where the farmers can raise their grievances, similar to the ones created under the labour act, consumer act, family courts act etc. instead the act gives the responsibility to Sub-divisional Magistrate who already has multiple other duties and functions to perform, plea added.
"Unchecked hoarding will give exporters, processors and traders the power to regulate the prices of the produce as and when they need, creating artificial demand thus controlling price in the market at will," the plea further said.
Approaching the top court, the MP said the agricultural sector plays a fundamental role in the prosperity of the country's GDP and employment of 58 per cent of the working population. A large portion of 65.53 per cent consisting of the rural population, depends on agriculture as their principal means of livelihood. Thus, the common man, agriculture and the Indian economy is intrinsically linked to one another.
It sought a direction to declare Section(s) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 18 and 19 of the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 as being "unconstitutional, illegal and void".
The plea sought quashing of laws as being unconstitutional, and also wants setting up of separate tribunals for farmers like industrial workers.