The Lok Sabha approved on Thursday the Draft Law on Trade in Agricultural Products and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) and the Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services Law. You have already passed the Essential Commodities Bill (Amendment).
The three bills will now be tabled in the Rajya Sabha and will become laws after the Upper House passes them as well. They will replace the ordinances promulgated by the government of the Union.
The two bills were passed by voice in Lok Sabha early in the evening amid protests from opposition parties, and Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal also vehemently opposed them, calling these anti-farmer measures. The only SAD member in the Union Cabinet, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, also resigned from the government, accusing it of not accepting farmers.
Praising the passage of three agricultural sector bills in Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described these proposed legislation as historic and stated that they will free farmers and the agricultural sector from intermediaries and other bottlenecks.
In a subtle attack on the Opposition, Modi claimed that many forces were trying to “mislead” farmers and assured the farming community that the minimum subsistence price (MSP) and government purchase of their products will continue along with many new opportunities. for them.
It should be noted that farmers in Haryana and Punjab, two of India’s largest agricultural centers, have opposed the bill, claiming that the latest amendments will encourage hoarding by large farmers but marginalize smaller ones.
Farmers protesting the recently passed bills have also pointed out that they are only likely to enhance the corporatization of the agricultural sector, leading to reduced bargaining power of farmers and crippling them financially.
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