The Kerala Cabinet has decided to move the Supreme Court against the farm Bills recently passed by Parliament, saying it amounted to not just “gross violation of States’ powers” but also “blatant and serious transgression of Constitutional norms”, as per the expert legal advice it has received.

Also read: Why the new agri laws are not anti-farmer

The spreading protests against what the Cabinet described as “unilateral action” by the Centre too are learnt to have hastened its decision to move the apex court. “It was grossly unfair on the part of the Centre to do it given that agriculture falls in the Concurrent List,” official sources said here.

Also read: Govt should have cleared stakeholder doubts on farm Bills: Experts

The State government hopes to attract national attention through this move, with the Opposition parties also supporting it locally. The latter too has been raising the allegation that the Bills are patently anti-farmer and designed to promote the interests of the corporate sector.

The contentious Bills include Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. Earlier, Parliament had passed The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill as well.

Also read: Trade unions slam agri Bills, back farmers’ protests

 

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