The Legislative Assembly will convene for a special session here on Wednesday to discuss the contentious farm laws passed by the Centre and pass a resolution against them.
The State Agriculture Department has also formed a subcommittee to study the possibility of framing a legislation to counter the Central laws.
A meeting of the Cabinet held here on Monday morning decided to recommend Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to convene the special session to discuss the three laws.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office said the special session would discuss the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act; the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, which have sparked nationwide farmer protests.
Fronts’ stand
Both the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the State have opposed the laws, passed in September, calling them pro-corporate and inimical to the welfare of farmers. The fronts had demanded the Centre to repeal the laws immediately.
In December, the Kerala Assembly had passed a resolution urging the Centre to scrap the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
With regard to the farm laws, the LDF government had earlier stated that it would move the Supreme Court against the laws. Kerala has held that the method by which the laws were passed was constitutionally untenable as agriculture is a state subject under the seventh schedule.
Subcommittee report
A subcommittee of Agriculture Department officials formed to study the possibility of framing a legislation against the farm laws is expected to submit its report in a week's time.
The panel consists of the Chairman, Prices Control Board, members of the Project Planning and Monitoring Cell and law officers of the department.
Earlier, the State Law Department had advised the department that it could, if needed, opt for a legislation in this regard.
