Kerala passes resolution against federal farm laws

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday moved a resolution against the Center’s farm laws in the special assembly session of the State Assembly.

The current situation makes it clear that if this agitation continues, it will seriously affect Kerala. There is no doubt that Kerala will starve if supply of food items from other state stops, Pinarayi Vijayan said.

After a little row between the Kerala government and the Raj Bhawan, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had given his assent to convene a one-day session of the state assembly on December 31 for a discussion on farm laws.

The Kerala Governor initially turned down Pinarayi Vijayan government’s first proposal for the special session, but later gave his nod for the same.

The CPIM government then sent another proposal to the Raj Bhawan to convene a session of the Kerala assembly so that a discussion can be held on the three contentious central farm laws against which farmers are agitating in Delhi.

The Kerala Governor had earlier rejected the special session on December 23 to discuss the contentious laws, saying Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had not addressed the question raised by him on the nature of emergency warranting the very brief session.

In a letter to CM Vijayan, the Governor had also stated that the government wanted the special session to “discuss a problem for which you have no jurisdiction to offer any solution”.

Vijayan then replied to Khan last week describing as regrettable his decision while asserting that the governor was bound by the advice of the Council of Ministers and that moving resolutions and conducting discussions in the assembly “cannot be regulated by gubernatorial powers”.