Chandigarh: In an unexpected show of solidarity with the ongoing farmers’ agitation, three former judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court have lashed out at the Narendra Modi government for “bulldozing” the three new farm laws through Parliament, “without taking into consideration the concerns of the farmers”.
In a press statement issued Wednesday evening, retired justices Mehtab Singh Gill (former acting chief justice of the high court), Ranjit Singh and Nawab Singh appealed to the government to consider the farmers’ demands “with an open mind”.
Stating that the farmers have “outrightly rejected’ these laws, the judges said that the concerns “cannot be ignored and must be attended to”.
“We fail to understand and appreciate the urgency shown by the central government in introducing these farm laws, by first issuing ordinances, that too when the whole nation was in lockdown condition and fighting the serious pandemic engulfing the entire world. Was there any urgency or emergency to take the route through ordinances?” the judges asked.
“The government then bulldozed its way through to pass these laws in Parliament. The bills were passed in Rajya Sabha in a very questionable manner by voice vote against the demand of division,” the judges continued.
“It was imperative for the government to take into consideration the concern of the farmers before enacting these laws. If it was so done then the present situation may have been avoided,” they added.
The three judges said they had chosen to express themselves because they were “concerned with the situation”.
“Apparently, the central government did not show the requisite concern when peaceful protest was confined to the states of Punjab and Haryana. Now, the government seems to have realised the gravity of the grievances when the agitating farmers have reached the outskirts of Delhi,” they claimed.
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Haryana Police action ‘brutal, undemocratic’
The judges also expressed their unhappiness over the manner in which the farmers were treated by the Haryana Police.
“To protest peacefully against any grievance is a constitutionally protected right of every citizen. The manner in which the farmers peacefully moving to Delhi were treated by Haryana Police was not only undemocratic, but brutal as well,” they said.
“Use of indiscriminate water cannons in this harsh cold winter and use of lathis and other means would put any democratic government to shame. In return, farmers were seen offering water and food to lathi-yielding police,” the judges said.
They also said the apprehensions aired by the farmers were not baseless.
“Government needs to realise the difficulty of the small and marginal farmers to deal with big corporates. Even the big and well-to-do farmers cannot stand before the rich corporates. Farmers are in no capacity to take their produce to faraway places even in the state, what to talk of other states. Corporates may be a few who would benefit, but struggling farmers burdened with unending debts would lose their land and livelihood. Government must stand to protect the poor rather than being seen with crorepatis,” the judges added.
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