Chandigarh: The Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Thursday passed a resolution against the Union government’s recent move to increase the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) in Punjab.“These resolutions were the voice of the entire state. It was the outcome of the all-party meeting held recently on the issue,” chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said just after his deputy Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa tabled the resolution on the BSF issue.Soon after the resolution was passed, Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib, Manish Tewari, who is also one of the G-23 members who wrote the letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi last year demanding sweeping organisational changes, called his party’s resolution move on BSF “mere tokenism”.“A resolution makes for good optics but yields no result until the state challenges the Union government’s BSF notification under section 131 of Indian Constitution,” Tewari told The Wire over the phone.Three days ago, he also questioned the intent of the Punjab government in preventing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government from extending the BSF’s jurisdiction in the state. Through a notification dated October 11, 2021, the Union government had increased the BSF’s existing area from 15 km to 50 km, bringing almost half the state under the central agency for various purposes including search, seizures and arrests.The assembly’s resolution on Thursday’s session pointed out that as per the constitution, maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the state government, and the Punjab government is fully capable of doing so.“The decision of extending the jurisdiction of BSF from 15 km to 50 km by the Union Government is an expression of distrust towards the state police and the people of Punjab. This is their insult too,” it addedAs per the resolution, the Union government should have consulted the state government before taking such a major decision. “The law and order situation in Punjab is totally under control and there was no need to extend the jurisdiction of BSF,” the resolution says, adding that the move was a gross violation of the spirit of federalism enshrined in the constitution.“Extending the jurisdiction of BSF is also symbolic of petty politics. All the political parties of Punjab have unanimously condemned this decision of the Union government and have demanded the Union government should withdraw notification,” stated the resolution.Also read: Changes in BSF Law to Bring One-Third Area in West Bengal Under Central AgencyTewari said that a resolution alone will not prevent the Union government from implementing the said BSF notification. It can’t be stopped without a court’s intervention.“It has been close to a month now since the Union government has extended BSF’s operational remit in Punjab to 50 km. Why has the notification not been challenged by the Punjab government so far?” he asked.Tewari’s views were echoed by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)’s senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who questioned the Channi government for not moving the Supreme Court so far to nullify the notification.On the other hand, former Congress chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who recently floated his own party, flayed the resolution move by saying that “unfortunately, people playing up the issue are unable to make out the difference between law and order and national security”.“BSF like Punjab Police is our own force and not an external or foreign army coming to occupy our land. Extending operational jurisdiction of BSF neither infringes upon federal authority of Punjab, nor questions competence of state police in maintaining law and order, as some vested political interests are trying to make out. It concerns national security; must not be politicised,” he tweeted.Unfortunately people playing up the issue are unable to make out the difference between law & order and national security. BSF like Punjab Police is our own force and not an external or foreign army coming to occupy our land.— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) November 11, 2021Anti-farm bill resolution focuses on procurement of all crops at MSPMeanwhile, the Congress also moved a resolution in the Vidhan Sabha rejecting the three farm laws enacted by the Union government.The resolution, which was moved by Punjab agriculture minister Randeep Singh, sought directions for the Punjab government to not implement the three contentious farm legislations. It further condemned the use of entry 33 of the concurrent list for the enactment of these three laws.The resolution further said that the assembly session condemned the efforts of the Union government aimed at the systematic dismantling of the farmer-friendly regulated mandis (APMCs) and replacing them with the trader-friendly unregulated mandis.The assembly session on Thursday expressed its concern and dismay at the act of the Modi government which legislated on the subject of agriculture which squarely falls in the state list under the seventh schedule of the constitution.It said that the Union government resorted to high-handedness by promulgating the three farm-related ordinances on June 5, 2020 without holding any consultation either with the stakeholders or with the states (in whose jurisdiction the matter falls). It condemned the arrogance of the Union government in bulldozing its way through the parliament while passing the three Acts, which replaced the contentious ordinances, without considering the opposition’s viewpoint to send the Bills to a select committee of parliament.The Vidhan Sabha session was convened after expressing concerns over the fact that at the time of passage of the Bills in the Rajya Sabha, the opposition demand for the division by count was not accepted.Also read: Did You Think the New Laws Were Only About the Farmers?The resolution expressed concerns over the unfair concessions extended to the traders and corporations for allowing purchases from unregulated markets without paying market fee, rural development cess etc. and thus providing unfair advantage to the unregulated market vis-à-vis regulated mandis. This will eventually lead to shifting of trade from APMC mandis to the private mandis, apart from causing fiscal loss to the state governments and adversely affecting rural development.Nearly 86% of the farmers have meagre landholdings, the resolution mentioned, adding that a bare reading of the farm laws suggest they are heavily loaded in favour of the corporations and detrimental to the interest of small and marginal farmers.“Punjab Vidhan Sabha can’t be party to this design against the rural poor. Rather it resolves to back the farmers and rural manpower to the hilt in their struggle to repeal of the three unconstitutional legislations,” it further read.It demanded promulgation of special legislation in the parliament that should safeguard the interest of the marginal and small farmers, and allow procurement of the food grains on the minimum support price (MSP).The suggested legislation should provide a legal guarantee to the farmers that their produce will not be procured at a price less than the MSP and that the procurement of the farm produce at a price lower than the MSP will be a “criminal offence”.It demanded that all crops should be mandatorily procured at the MSP, which should be calculated taking the comprehensive cost into consideration.Also read: Modi Is on a Civilisational Mission – Please Excuse a Few Grand LiesHigh dramaThe day saw high political drama on the floor of the House. While Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs staged a demonstration against the Modi-led Union government and the Channi government of Punjab over the shortage of DAP fertiliser in the state, a war of words erupted between SAD and Congress leaders.SAD’s Majithia accused the Congress government of being an utter failure. He said, “Punjab has had enough! Everything is falling apart under Congress government with humongous issues plaguing the farm sector, electricity department, fuel prices and a long list of scams,” he said.Responding to him, chief minister Channi said that the SAD was responsible for the BJP-RSS’s entry in Punjab. “Where was Sukhbir Badal when the BJP government at the Centre took away the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Sukhbir had then praised the decision. Now they are talking about federalism.”“The BJP thought they could do whatever they wanted with Punjab because the SAD was supporting them,” Channi said.Channi also called the SAD the gaddar (traitor) party of Punjab, following which the party’s MLAs protested from their seats and started shouting anti-Congress slogans.The situation turned tense post-lunch after Channi accused Majithia of “supporting the drug mafia”.Chaos ensued. Following his comments, Akali Dal leaders, including Majithia, stormed the chief minister’s bench. On the other hand, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu and other party leaders too gathered around him.Both sides exchanged unpleasant words for a brief period before the speaker adjourned the House for an hour.