New Delhi: Condemning the Punjab government's move of adopting a resolution rejecting the Centre's new farm laws, an expert on Wednesday said it lacked logic and was merely political.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, agriculture economist Vijay Sardana said that politics had taken over economy, and that it will be the farmers of Punjab who will suffer.
Warning that if other states too take such moves, Sardana said it will be the farmers who will be harmed. He added that the three Bills passed by Punjab to counter the contentious legislation enacted by Parliament, will prove to be dangerous not just for the state's farmers, but for the Indian economy as a whole.
The state bills provide for imprisonment of not less than three years for the sale or purchase of wheat or paddy below the minimum support price (MSP).
Sardana said that though the bills criminalised buying produce below the MSP, they said nothing about the quality.
"Regardless of the quality of the produce, whether it can be consumed or not, MSP will have to be given. Nowhere in the world does this happen as buyers pay based on the quality," Sardana said.
Read: Punjab govt's bills provide for minimum 3 years of prison and fine for sale/purchase below MSP
The expert said that only 10-15 per cent of the total produce generally meets all the quality criteria, and the rest is made better through processing.
"When I spoke to traders and companies, all of them said they will hesitate in buying from Punjab," Sardana said.
"The economy has been surrendered in front of politics. If this continues in other states, nations will soon begin to lose their trust in India," he added.
Sardana appealed to the President and Governor to question the Punjab government whether farmers will get any buyers for sub-standard produce.
"The farmer leaders might now be happy that their demands have been met, but how can they be so ignorant that they can't see that their own farmers will suffer?" he asked.
Pointing out another flaw with the bills, Sardana said that they provide for MSP only on wheat or paddy, even though farmer organisations were demanding MSP for all crops.
Read: Punjab parties join hands, leaders of all parties except BJP join CM at meet with Governor
Earlier on October 20, the Punjab Assembly adopted a resolution rejecting the Centre's new farm laws and passed three bills it said will counter the contentious legislation enacted by Parliament.
The bills were passed and the resolution adopted unanimously after over five hours of discussion on the second day of a special assembly session called by the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government.
The state bills provide for imprisonment of not less than three years for the sale or purchase of wheat or paddy below the minimum support price (MSP), exemption of farmers from attachment of land up to 2.5 acres and prevention of hoarding and black-marketing of agricultural produce.
