The Kerala government has decided not to implement the contentious farm laws and instead challenge their constitutionality in the Supreme Court.

State agriculture minister V.S. Sunil Kumar on Monday told reporters in Thrissur that the state would file its petition this week itself challenging the constitutional validity of the laws that impinge on what is essentially a state subject.

“As per the Constitution, the central government has no right to frame laws on state subjects. This (the farm laws) is a blatant violation of the constitutional provisions in this matter,” said Kumar.

He said the state government has directed the advocate general to file cases against all three agriculture-marketing legislations that have led to a nationwide agitation.

Thousands of farmers have been protesting on the outskirts of Delhi for about two weeks demanding that the farm laws be repealed.

“The Centre is trying to take away even the states’ powers mainly to protect the interests of large corporations,” the minister said.

While Opposition-ruled states such as Rajasthan have already moved the apex court against the farm laws, Kumar said Kerala was yet to take a decision on whether to implead in those cases or file separate petitions. “We have asked the advocate general to provide legal advice on this,” he said.

Agitating farmers have expressed fear that the new set of laws would eventually dismantle the cushion of minimum support price and they would end up at the mercy of large corporate buyers.

The Left parties have come out in support of the ‘Bharat Bandh’ on December 8 called by farmers’ organisations that have declared that they would settle for nothing less than the withdrawal of the farm laws hurriedly passed by the NDA government.

Kerala had become the first state to fix minimum support prices for vegetables. Announced in October, the scheme came into force on November 1.