Having rolled out the ‘five guarantees’, the Siddaramaiah-led government has now turned its focus on three controversial pieces of legislation passed by the previous BJP government, including the Anti-Cow Slaughter Act and amendments to the APMC Act and the Land Reforms Act, with the chief minister promising to “review” these laws.
Siddaramaiah on Wednesday assured a delegation of farmer-activists that he would soon review these three laws after they pressed the government to repeal them in the interest of farmers.
While Congress’ poll plank included revoking some of the controversial laws passed by the BJP, this is the first time Siddaramaiah has announced a review of these laws after taking over as chief minister.
His statement comes amid speculation that the Congress government would tread lightly around these laws considering the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. A minister in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet stressed that the government was committed to reviewing these laws. “This is not about ideology, but economy. If these regressive policies affect the progress of Karnataka, then we must review them, and if necessary, repeal them too,” the minister stated.
The then BJP government had introduced the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Act, the Karnataka Land Reforms (Second Amendment) Act and the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, amid protests from farmers and Opposition parties.
Amendments to the APMC Act allowed private entities to directly trade with farmers, thereby curtailing the role of APMCs. Amendments to the Land Reforms Act allowed non-agriculturists to purchase agriculture land, apart from removing the income limit for purchase of land. The Anti-Cattle Slaughter Act brought in a blanket ban on slaughter of cows in the state.
Chamarasa Mali Patil, state honorary president, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, who was part of the delegation, told DH that farmers were facing an adverse impact of these laws. “The Land Reforms Act had turned out to be an avenue to channel black money into land investment, thereby artificially inflating land prices. The APMC Amendment Act had made farmers vulnerable with several instances where private players had absconded with farmers’ produce without paying the farmers,” he explained, adding, “We have protested against these bits of legislation when they were passed. Siddaramaiah had then promised to repeal these laws if voted to power. We now reminded him of this promise.”