Kerala govt to move Supreme Court against farm laws soon
Dec 15, 2020
Kochi (Kerala) [India], December 15 : Kerala Agriculture Minister VS Sunil Kumar said that the state government will approach the Supreme Court against the farm laws as soon as possible.
He told ANI that the government is trying to utilise the provision of 304(B) of the Constitution under which the states have the right to make their own enactment in the state assemblies.
He also said, "This enactment is completely surrendering the production sector of our nation. We are completely surrendering food security before the corporates. It's a corporate decision. If we compromise with the central government, this will be the death of farmers. Farmers are committing suicide all over India. More than 10,000-12,000 farmers are dying every year because they are not getting actual price for their crops.
"After the enactment of these laws everything from seeds to high-end production, the complete chain will go to the corporates. This is a bad situation. I don't know why this Narendra Modi government decided to pass these acts in parliament. There is a big agenda. This is a clear encroachment of the right which is given by the constitution to the states.
"Agriculture is a concurrent list issue. How can the Central government enact laws (on this) in Parliament? This is the issue of states. There is no right to make any act in Parliament without the consent of the states.
The state agriculture minister said that the Kerala government is not ready to implement this act in Kerala. "There is a provision in our Constitution as per the 304 B. If the central government enacts an act in parliament that affects the interest of the state, the state has the right to make their own enactment in the state assemblies. We are trying to utilise this provision," he said.
The minister said that if the Centre implements this act all over the country, all state agriculture departments will disappear. "This is not good for a federal republic. All the power is centralised with the Central government. This is undemocratic. The Narendra Modi government is spoiling the constitution, democracy. This is a big issue in state-centre relations."
"We will approach the Supreme Court at a proper time. Within a week. We are discussing with legal experts at what time we will do so. It will be as soon as possible," the minister said
Meanwhile, he said that the ruling Left Democratic Front will get a good result in the local body polls for which the counting will take place tomorrow.
"We are very confident. We will get a very good result for the Left government. Our government is very popular among people. We implemented so many welfare schemes in the state. This state is very calm, quiet, and peaceful. There is no issue because of the Left government. So the people are with the Left government," he said.
The three-phase local body polls concluded in Kerala and the counting of votes will be held tomorrow.