‘Farm Laws Unconstitutional, Assault on Federalism’: 78 Ex-Civil Servants Support Farmers Protests

New Delhi: Extending solidarity to the farmers protests going on across the country and especially at various borders of Delhi for the past 16 days, 78 former civil servants have written an open letter condemning the three new farm laws, which have sparked the protests, and called these legislations “unconstitutional” and “an assault upon the federal character of the Constitution”

The farmers protests have so far drawn support from various sections including the civil society, rights groups, political parties, artists and writers, and sportspersons as well as the diaspora abroad.

Echoing the farmers and their supporters, the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG) – a group of former civil servants from the all India and Central services who have worked with the Central and state governments—has said that the three farm laws were passed by the Parliament in violation of the Constitutional provisions of federalism.

Among the 78 signatories of the letter are Vappala Balachandran (Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India), Shafi Alam (Former Director General, National Crime Records Bureau, GoI), Nitin Desai (Former Secretary and Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, GoI), Wajahat Habibullah (Former Secretary, GoI and Chief Information Commissioner), M.G. Devasahayam (Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana and former army-infantry officer), K. Saleem Ali (Former Special Director, CBI, GoI), P.K. Lahiri (Former ED, Asian Development Bank and Former Revenue Secretary, GoI), Sunil Mitra (Former Secretary, Ministry of Finance, GoI), K. Sujatha Rao (Former Health Secretary, GoI), Mira Pande (Former State Election Commissioner, West Bengal), Julio Ribeiro (Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & former Ambassador to Romania),  N.C. Saxena (Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI), P.S.S. Thomas (Former Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission), among others.

Stating that they do not wish to go into “merits and demerits” of the three laws, the former civil servants, including IPS, IAS and IFS officers, underlined the “unconstitutionality” of the law and claimed that their passing in Parliament also suggests “breakdown of democratic processes”.

UNCONSTITUTIONALITY:

Establishing itself as having “no affiliation with any political party” and being “committed to the Constitution of India”, the CCG in the letter said: “In keeping with the federal structure of the Constitution and the range and diversity of State-specific needs, ‘agriculture’ is at Entry 14 in List-II in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. The subjects in this List are within the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of the States and it has been argued convincingly that the laws passed are, therefore, unconstitutional.”

Agriculture (Entry 14 in state list) and all its associated enterprises are a state subject. However, Entry 26 of state list (trade and commerce within the State) and Entry 27 (production, supply and distribution of goods) are also subject to Entry 33 on the concurrent list. This Entry 33 lets the Union government control production, supply and distribution of “(b) foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils; (c) cattle fodder, including oilcakes and other concentrates; (d) raw cotton whether ginned or unginned, and cotton seeds; and (e) raw jute.” This provision has been used by the Centre to bring in the farm laws—a move that has been strongly criticised.

BREAKDOWN OF DEMOCRATIC PROCESS:

The former civil servants pointed out in their letter that the government did not hold consultations with farmers’ representatives prior to the legal process. It also criticised that the laws were brought during a pandemic “which deserved undiluted attention” itself.

Criticising how the bills were passed in Parliament, the letter said, when the Bills were introduced in September 2020, the demand to send them to Parliamentary Committees was denied. “Time was not given to debate the Bills and they were railroaded through Parliament; the demand for a division in the Rajya Sabha was not accepted and a voice vote was held amid tumult and confusion, leading to suspicions about the procedure employed. At the same time, some labour laws were passed during a walk-out by the Opposition. The question has been raised pointedly: was this done in the belief that during a pandemic and the restrictions on public gatherings, organized protest would not be possible?” the letter asked.

Citing data that bills scrutinised by Parliamentary Select Committees dropped from being 71% during UPA II to only 25% in NDA I.

“The undermining of democratic processes and the total disregard for public consultation and convenience has been evident in the ways in which Article 370 was repealed, demonetization was implemented without warning or preparation, the Citizenship Amendment Act was brought in and a lockdown ordered with hardly any notice, resulting in untold suffering for millions of migrant workers,” the letter said.

RIGHT TO PEACEFUL PROTEST:

Noting that the farmers’ agitation has been peaceful while using their Constitutional and democratic right to protest, the letter condemned the use of teargas and water cannons on protesting farmers trying to reach Delhi.

The former civil servants also criticised the argument forwarded by many Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and lawmakers that the protests were being instigated by political parties or infiltrated by “Khalistanis.”

It added, “The protests have spread across many States and are being supported by several other groups even though a largely complicit media refuses to report their true magnitude and reach.”

“In our capacity as former civil servants who stand up for Constitutional freedoms, we would like to emphasize our support for the democratic and Constitutional right of peaceful protest being exercised by farmers and others,” the letter said.