Punjab CM Amarinder throws weight behind agitating farmers
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh extended his government’s full support to the agitating farmers on Tuesday and assured them of all possible legal and other steps to fight the “draconian new farm laws,” including a special session of the Assembly to discuss and decide the way forward.
Singh said the Punjab government stands in full support of the farmers in these “dark and difficult times.
”Chairing a meeting with the representatives of 31 farmers’ unions here to take their views on the matter, the Chief Minister said he would be discussing the issue with his legal team later in the day to finalise the next steps, including challenging the farm laws in the Supreme Court.
Besides the farmer representatives, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Punjab Harish Rawat attended the meeting, along with state Ministers Sukhjinder Randhawa and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, MLA Rana Gurjit Singh, state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and the state’s Advocate General, Atul Nanda, an official statement said.
“We will take all possible steps to counter the Union government’s assault on the state’s federal and constitutional rights and fight for the interests of the farmers,” the Chief Minister told the farmer representatives.
If legal experts advise amendment to state laws to fight the central laws, a special session of the Assembly will be immediately convened to do so, he said.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the new farm laws will have to be opposed not just for farmers but for the future of the country, as he alleged that they were like a “stab in the farmers’ hearts.” Interacting with farmers, he said the GST and the note ban were also attacks on farmers, but these three laws will prove to be more detrimental.