A delegation of Punjab parliamentarians met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday and sought the restoration of train services to the state, PTI reported. The services have been snapped since September 24 due to protests against the Centre’s farm laws, disrupting the supply of essential commodities to Punjab.

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal was also present at the meeting. Congress MP Jasbir Singh Gill said after the meeting that he hoped the train services will resume soon. Gill’s party colleague Gurjeet Singh Aujla said that the delegation briefed Shah about the situation in Punjab. Shah, meanwhile, assured them that the matter would be resolved soon.

The Punjab government has alleged that the Centre has instituted a “rail blockade” against the state. On Friday, the state government said that protesting farmers had withdrawn from railway tracks to allow the movement of freight trains, NDTV reported.

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Punjab blockade: The stopping of essential supplies points to an alarming federal breakdown

The Railways, on the other hand, has accused Punjab of “misguiding” the people by claiming that the tracks were clear. The department added that it cannot “discriminate between customers and selectively run certain kind of freight trains” and that this fact was conveyed to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh by Goyal.

Punjab is now facing the possibility of a power crisis because of the rail blockade. The state’s five power plants are running out of their stock of coal, according to Business Standard.

The state is also facing a shortage of fertilisers for winter crops. Punjab needs 14.5 lakh tonnes of urea for winter crops, but the state has only about 75,000 tonnes, according to government officials.

The Punjab government has been firmly opposing the Centre’s farm laws. On Wednesday, Amarinder Singh took his protest against the laws to Jantar Mantar in Delhi. He was joined by Congress MLAs from Punjab, state ministers, Punjabi Ekta Party MLA Sukhpal Khaira, Lok Insaf Party legislator Simranjit Singh Bains and Shiromani Akali Dal (Democratic) MLA Parminder Singh Dhindsa.

The farm laws

The Parliament had passed three ordinances – Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Ordinance 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment & Protection) Assurance and Farm Service Ordinance 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 – in September. They were signed into laws by President Ram Nath Kovind on September 27.

Protests had erupted against the laws in many parts of the country. When two of the legislations were tabled during a chaotic session in Parliament on September 20, some Opposition MPs claimed that they would prove to be the “death warrant” for the agricultural sector.

Taken together, the three legislations loosen regulations on the sale, pricing and storage of agricultural produce. They allow farmers to sell outside mandis notified by the Agricultural Produce Market Committee. They enable contract farming through deals with private sector companies. They take food items like cereals and pulses off the list of essential commodities, lifting stock limits on such produce.

The government claimed the new laws would give farmers the freedom to sell in the open market. But farmers say the laws will weaken the minimum support price mechanism under which the government buys agricultural produce, leave farmers to the mercy of market forces and threaten food security.