New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday slammed the Congress party over Sonia Gandhi’s advice to party-rules states to ‘bypass Centre’s farm laws’ through overriding legislations and called out its ‘double-standard’ on the issue of Agricultural Produce Market Committees Act.
In a series of tweets, Sitharaman said Congress had promised to make trade in agricultural produce–including exports and inter-state trade–free from all restrictions and had promised to repeal the APMC Act but now that it’s done, the party is trying to mislead people.
“Did Congress had made false promise during the Lok Sabha 2019 elections or are they “provoking people now” by asking states to bypass the central legislation,” Sitharaman asked in tweet.
Did @INCIndia give a false promise during the Lok Sabha 2019 elections or are they provoking people now by asking states to bypass the central legislation? Wonder who advises their President?
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) September 29, 2020
“From Section 7 page 9 of the INCIndia Lok Sabha 2019 manifesto: ‘Congress will repeal the Agricultural Produce Market Committees Act and make trade in agricultural produce–including exports and inter-state trade–free from all restrictions’,” Sitharaman said.
From Section 7 page 9 of the @INCIndia Lok Sabha 2019 manifesto:
“Congress will repeal the Agricultural Produce Market Committees Act and make trade in agricultural produce—including exports and inter-state trade—free from all restrictions.”https://t.co/sZpY0Rgg2c— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) September 29, 2020
Sonia Gandhi on Monday had urged Congress-ruled states to explore the possibilities to pass laws in their respective states under Article 254(2) of the constitution, which allows the state legislatures to pass a law, “to negate the anti-agriculture central laws encroaching upon state’s jurisdiction under the constitution”.
“This would enable the states to bypass the unacceptable anti-farmers’ provisions in the three draconian agricultural laws including the abolition of MSP and disruption of APMCs in Congress-ruled states. This would also alleviate the farmers from the grave injustice done by the Modi Government and BJP,” a Congress statement had said.
