New Agri Laws Will Enslave Farmers, Says Rahul Gandhi, Offers Support to Bharat Bandh

Rahul Gandhi on Friday sharpened his attack on the Centre over the agriculture bills passed by Parliament and said the contentious legislation would “enslave farmers.” Gandhi, in his tweet, while expressing support to the national shutdown called by farmers’ organisations, also likened the bills with the Centre’s GST system.

“A flawed GST destroyed MSMEs.The new agriculture laws will enslave our Farmers. #ISupportBharatBandh,” the former Congress chief wrote on Twitter.

Gandhi’s recent comments come a day after the Congress said that the party will challenge the “black laws” in the court and termed it “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.

Several farmers’ organisations, including from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, have called a national shutdown on Friday, intensifying their protests against the agricultural bills passed by Parliament earlier this week. Farmers in Punjab have already started a three-day rail blockade against the bills, squatting on tracks at many places yesterday.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill were passed by the Parliament earlier this week.The protesters have expressed apprehension that the Centre’s farm reforms would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system and they would be at the “mercy” of big corporates.