Farmers' Acts: Now DMK MP from Tamil Nadu, Tiruchi Siva, moves Supreme Court assailing the newly passed farmers' laws

After a Congress MP from Thrissur, now a Rajya Sabha member from the DMK, Tiruchi Siva, has moved the Supreme Court against the controversial farm laws that were passed by the Parliament in this Monsoon session..The MP has challenged three newly passed laws: The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and The 2020 Amendment to the Essential Commodities Act..These laws are assailed on the grounds of being "llegal and wholly unconstitutional" with the petition stating that the Acts are "antifarmer and anti-agriculturists" and brought in at a time when the Country is grappelling with a pandemic with the sole intention to benefit big corporates.."These Acts would pave way for cartelisation and commercialisation of the agricultural produces and if allowed to stand, are going to ruin India as the corporates can, with one stroke, export our agricultural produce without any regulation, and may even result in famines."The petition says.Moreover, the primary contention of the petitioner is that the Parliament enacted the two new Famers' laws despite the subject matter for the same being under the State list. As such, this act is against the principles of federalism and ultra vires Article 246 of the Constitution. .Additionally, the 2020 amendment brought in to the Essential Commodities Act, the petition avers, is inconsistent with the aims and objectives of the main Act which was to control production, supply, distribution etc. of essential commodities. Through the amendment, the process has been liberalised in a manner that would benefit corporates..Farmers Acts: First challenge mounted against legislation as MP from Kerala moves Supreme Court.These laws, while pitched as beneficial to the farmers, are in fact, capable of taking away the basic rights and safeguards that were provided to the farmers through various State legislations, it is said. By taking away the provision of Minimum Support price and opening up Mandis for allowing all players to enter the market, the farmers will be left open and vulnerable to exploitation by the big players, it is further argued.."There is no intelligible differentia in the classification, to create a separate private Mandi, which is not regulated by the State and is also non-taxable, other than taking away the basic negotiation power, which was available to the farmers, prior to the enactment of the impugned Acts," the petition adds further..The MSP was a crucial aspect for farmers and taking this provision away would take away the basic guarantee for produce from the farmers who may now be at the mercy of the big corporations and players who would regulate the terms and prices of the agriculture market.."The Centre, under the garb of an alleged beneficiary legislation, has taken away the power to control the market demand and supply forces from the farmers and opening an era, for the private entities, to exploit the poor farmers, who would be left with no other option, but to submit themselves, to the unfair farmer agreements, which would be drafted by the crony capitalists and would also be protected by a statutory backing.".Therefore, on these grounds, the petitioner has moved the Supreme Court challenging the validity of these farm laws while adding further that these enactments are violative of Articles 14, 21, 23 and of the Constitution of India and must be struck down as being unconstitutional, illegal and void..The tabling of these Farmers Bills during the Monsoon Session of Parliament had led to a huge ruckus, with the opposition registering fierce resistance to their passage..However, the Bills stood passed through a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha and have now also received the President's assent amid nationwide agitation among the farmers' community..The petition is settled by Senior Advocate P Wilson and filed through Advocate D Kumanan.