A day after urging President Ram Nath Kovind not to sign the three farm bills, the Congress on Thursday said it will challenge the "black laws" in the court, saying they are "unconstitutional" and against the country's federal structure. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said 18 opposition like-minded parties have urged the president to not sign the bills as they will be against the federal structure if they become laws.
"If the president signs these bills, which I want and hope he should not sign, and once they become the law, I feel they will be against the federal structure," he said. "These laws will be challenged in the court from high court up to the Supreme Court and I have no doubt that they will be quashed. We want that… these laws are stopped and quashed by the court as they are unconstitutional," Singhvi told reporters. He said the issues come under List 2 of the 7th Schedule which are exclusive rights of states.
The Congress leader said agriculture is included in List 2 and these laws directly relate to agriculture and trade and commerce within the state. The holding of markets and fairs also fall within the purview of state governments. He accused the government of pushing through the bills in Rajya Sabha while ignoring calls by many members for a division of votes.
"These are three black laws and the manner in which they were passed was unconstitutional and against parliamentary traditions and rules," he alleged. He said as per parliamentary precedents, the chair has to hear the plea by even a single member wanting a division of votes but that was not done.
Singhvi, a Rajya Sabha member, said there were doubts about the quorum in the Upper House when the bills were passed amid the din. He alleged that whatever happened on Sunday during the passage of bills was not just unconstitutional but also undemocratic, as the government sought to push through the bills due to its power. He said the government did not have the numbers and that is why it resorted to such measures to get the bills passed, without adhering to members' request for a division.
He said the chairman "wrongly rejected" the resolution of "no confidence" against the deputy chairman by opposition parties as a 14-day notice is not required. The Congress leader also lamented that the MSP increase of 4 to 5 per cent announced by the government was lower than inflation which was around 7 per cent in July.
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