Nothing short of repealing farm laws will help: Punjab

Chandigarh, Jan 14 : Even as it asserted that it will take all measures to protect the state’s and its farmers’ interests, the Punjab government led by Amarinder Singh on Thursday made it clear that nothing short of repeal of the Centre’s ‘black’ farm laws, which it described as “anti-farmers, anti-nation and anti-food security”, would resolve the present crisis.
The Central government is out of touch with the ground realities, the Chief Minister said at a meeting of the Cabinet, whose members declared unequivocally that repeal of the farm laws was the only way out of the current imbroglio.
The Cabinet demanded that the Centre make MSP a statutory right of the farmers, who had been getting extremely low prices for their produce for the past several days despite being responsible for feeding the nation.
At the start of the meeting, the Ministers observed a two-minutes silence in memory of farmers who have died during the agitation.
An estimated 78 farmers have so far lost their lives. Stressing the need for an early resolution to the agitation to prevent further loss of life, the Cabinet pointed out that the matter has already been debated and discussed in eight rounds of negotiations held between the farmers and the Centre.
Pointing out that even the Supreme Court had acknowledged the concerns of the protesting farmers, and had recognised their pain and anguish, it said the Central government should not stand on prestige and ego in this matter, which, if unresolved, could lead to devastating repercussions for the country for decades to come.