Union moves SC, says new laws will expose farmers to corporate greed

Bhartiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) has moved an intervention application in the Supreme Court challenging the recently enacted three farm laws, which has led to major farmers protests at various Delhi borders.

The plea, moved by farmers' union president Bhanu Pratap Singh, sought to intervene in the plea led by Tiruchi Siva, Member of Parliament (DMK), challenging the three laws: The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The plea said: "These acts are illegal and arbitrary, because, these acts would pave way for cartelisation and commercialisation of the agricultural produces and if allowed to stand, we are going to completely ruin our country as the corporates can, with one stroke, export our agriculture produce without any regulation, and may even result in famines."

The plea has argued that the new farm laws are unconstitutional and anti-farmer and these laws will make farmers position vulnerable to corporate greed of multinational companies. "That these laws would dismantle the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) system intended to ensure fair prices for farm products", said the plea, insisting that these laws were passed in haste.

The plea said the farmers are indeed afraid that the corporate houses will twist and turn words to wind them in an unfavourable contract just like money lenders. "And feelings of the farmers are that it would be very hard for a farmer to always understand the ramifications of the contract that he is signing", added the plea.

The plea argued that the amendment to the essential commodities act would facilitate black marketing and these new laws attack the very foundation of the agriculture fabric of the nation. "That without agriculture produce market committee acting as a protective shield around the farmers, the market would ultimately fall to the corporate greed of multinational companies who are more profit "oriented" and have no care for the condition of the poverty-stricken farmers which are many times coming on the stage of starvation due to natural calamity", added the plea.

The apex court had decided to hear pleas of RJD MP Manoj Jha and DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva, and one by Rakesh Vaishnav of Chhattisgarh Kisan Congress against the three farm laws.