Congress stages walkout as Council approves APMC Bill

The controversial Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, amidst a rousing dissent by Opposition leaders.

A heated debate ensued in the Legislative Council on Wednesday with opposition leaders alleging ulterior motives behind the move. The session ended with Congress leaders staging a walkout, even as the Bill was passed in the Council.

Defending the state government’s move, co-operation minister S T Somashekar said the proposal was taken up at the state-level only after visiting all the APMCs.

“We visited the APMCs and studied how the auction was done. We have held meetings with APMC committees. The chief minister has also met with farmers. There were no objections about the legislation,” he said. He added that unlike popular perception, MSP for produce would not cease to exist with the proposed amendment.

Supporting the protesting farmers across the country, Opposition leaders questioned why the government was in haste to bring in the legislation without holding any debate with stakeholders.

Congress MLC B K Hariprasad alleged that the legislation would threaten the food security in the country, handing over control to private entities.

With farmers across the country protesting against the legislation, the Centre will likely be forced to roll it back. In such a situation, what is the point in passing the Bill in Karnataka, questioned Congress MLC R Thimmapur.

If corporate entities have control over the produce market, the prices of essential commodities will skyrocket. The government should give clarity on who will fix the MSP and how it will control corporate bodies, Thimmapur sought to know.

JD(S) legislator Marithibbe Gowda alleged that instead of solving the problem of middlemen, the government was paving way for a new problem through the APMC amendment, while, Congress MLC Basavaraj Patil Itagi suggested that the government should strengthen Raitha Samparka Kendras, strengthen marketing and solve ground-level issues.