Punjab vs Modi Govt: What Happens Next in Farm Laws’ Battle?

There are fears in Punjab that in a confrontation with Centre, there will be attempts to vilify farmers’ protests.

All the parties except the BJP supported the Bills against Centre’s farm laws in the Punjab Assembly.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

Punjab's battle against the Narendra Modi government's farm laws has entered a new phase, with the state Assembly passing three Bills to "negate" the Centre's legislations.

The Bills had the support of all political parties in Punjab, except the two-member BJP. This became a major statement in line with Punjab’s history of taking on ‘authoritarian’ moves from the Centre.

Farmers’ unions have hailed the Bills passed by Punjab Assembly as a ‘partial victory’

Meanwhile, farmers' unions have hailed the Punjab Assembly's Bills as a "partial victory" and have decided to continue with their agitation but with a few concessions.

This article will try to answer five questions:

• What are the implications of the Bills passed by the Punjab Assembly?
• What happens if there is a conflict between Punjab and the Centre over the Bills?
• What next for the farmers' protests in the state?
• What impact will this tussle have on Punjab?
• What does this mean for different political parties?

What are the Implications of the Punjab Assembly's Bills?

The three Bills passed by the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday 20 October, don't do away with the Centre's recently-passed laws, but they negate a few provisions that had upset farmers in the state.

These are the four most important aspects of the Punjab Bills:

• The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) (Special Provisions and Punjab Amendment) Bill 2020 guarantees Minimum Support Price notified by the central government for wheat and paddy. This goes against the central legislation, which allowed the markets to decide the best price for the produce.
• The Punjab Bill also makes paying price less than MSP a punishable offence, involving a jail term of at least three years.

The Bill passed by the Punjab Assembly makes paying price less than MSP a punishable offence.

• The Punjab government will now have the right to levy fees on private entities for the purchase and sale of agricultural produce, bringing the entire state under the APMC Mandi system. The Centre's law had given an exemption from this fees outside Mandis.
• The Centre's law had given the government of India the right to regulate supply of cereals, pulses, potato, pulses, onion and edible oilseeds etc in the eventuality of war, famine, grave natural calamities and extraordinary price rise. A Bill introduced in the Punjab Assembly seeks to restore the state’s power to regulate essential commodities and enforce hoarding limits.

What Happens If There’s Conflict Between Centre and Punjab’s Bills?

Land and agriculture are a state subject but production, supply and distribution of any industry is in the concurrent list. Industry in this case may include agriculture as well. This would be the main legal issue of conflict between the Centre and Punjab.

It is now possible that the Governor of Punjab, instead of signing the Assembly's Bills, refers it to the President, who in turn may seek the Centre's view. The Centre can then potentially strike down the Punjab Bills and the Punjab government will then have to approach the Supreme Court.

The bigger battle between Punjab and the Centre won't be legal, but political. It will be fought by both farmers’ unions and political parties.

What Next for Farmers' Unions?

The Sanjha Morcha or United Front of 30 farmers organisations met on Wednesday 21 October and decided to continue with their agitation against the Centre's laws. However, as a concession they decided to lift the rail blockade against freight trains until 5 November.

However, the farmers unions are also aware that the constitutional status of the Punjab Bills is uncertain, therefore they are continuing with the agitation.

Protests will continue to take place at toll plazas and petrol pumps. In particular, the protests against two prominent industrial houses will go on in Punjab.

What Impact Could a Confrontation With the Centre Have on Punjab?

While people in Punjab are prepared that the tussle with the Centre isn’t likely to end anytime soon, there are also apprehensions. There are fears that the Centre and more so the media will use issues like stubble burning to vilify Punjab farmers and blame them on matters like pollution in Delhi.

There are also apprehensions that there would be attempts to give the tussle a communal colour. Already, there has been steady propaganda among pro-Hindutva groups on social media, projecting the farmers’ protests as being “Khalistani”.

There has been steady propaganda among pro-Hindutva groups projecting the farmers’ protests as being “Khalistani”.

Even when BJP Punjab general secretary Malwinder Singh Kang raised farmers issues in a party forum, he claims that he was accused of “speaking Pakistan’s language”.

Farmers’ unions are concerned that there may be attempts in the media and social media to present the protests as anti-national, especially if the supplies in rest of India starts getting affected due to the blockade.

What the Tussle Means for Political Parties

The passage of the Bills was a rare moment of unity in Punjab politics. All the legislators - except two from the BJP - supported the Bills and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Leader of Opposition from the Aam Aadmi Party Harpal Singh Cheema, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Lok Insaf Party leader Simarjit Singh Bains all went to submit the Bills to the Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore.

Congress

Standing up for federalism and against any 'authoritarian' moves by the Centre has been a key narrative in Punjab politics.

Captain Amarinder Singh has emerged as an important face of this assertion against the Centre. On Wednesday, he openly dared the Centre to sack him.

"Punjab's voice has reached the Governor, he'll pass it on to President. I don't care about President's Rule. You want to sack my government? Sack my government. I don't give a damn. I am doing this for our farmers," Amarinder Singh said on Wednesday.

“You want to sack my government? Sack my government. I don’t give a damn.”

Captain Amarinder Singh

Amarinder Singh has risen to the occasion in this crisis. Even in the past he has taken a stand on key issues, even if it meant going against the Centre or his own party. For instance he resigned from the Congress after Operation Bluestar in 1984 and took on the UPA government on the Sutlej Yamuna Canal issue in 2004-05.

This crisis may have helped Captain overcome the discontent against his regime, especially after corruption allegations against his ministers. Even when this becomes a legal confrontation with the Centre, Amarinder Singh is likely to continue steering this battle. However, he continues to face dissension from within the Congress

Akali Dal

The Shiromani Akali Dal initially supported the Centre's ordinances, but had to withdraw from the NDA following widespread protests in Punjab. Since then, it has tried to make up for its initial support by being extremely proactive through street protests.

To some extent the Akali Dal may have succeeded in overcoming the impact of its initial error. It has been the main beneficiary of the exodus of cadres away from the BJP.

But it may need to do more to regain the popularity it has lost over the past few years.

AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party has been extremely firm in its position against the Centre's laws. The party has been actively protesting the laws. However, the Akali Dal may have edged it out in terms of street protests at least owing to a superior cadre strength.

The AAP is now attacking not just the Centre, but also Captain Amarinder Singh, saying that the Punjab Bills are insufficient and don't really go against the Centre's Bills. AAP convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had a spat on Twitter with Captain Amarinder Singh on this issue.

AAP MP from Sangrur and its most prominent face in Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, has accused the Congress government of presenting "NDA's Bills" in the Assembly.

BJP

Alienated in Punjab, the BJP as of now seems to be prepared to dig its heels. The party’s top leadership feels that since there isn’t much support for it in Punjab anyway, there’s nothing to lose and that the party must not back down from its legislations.

There’s also a strong belief in the party that the protests in Punjab are “motivated”. This belief is likely to shape the Modi government’s response to the Punjab Bills and it is unlikely that the Centre will back down.