File photo of the proceedings at the Rajya Sabha. (PTI)
While the BJP succeeded in getting the two bills it had introduced in the upper house through voice vote, it has hardly come out stronger from the entire process. Three regional heavyweights, their oldest ally, Akali Dal of Punjab, and the ruling parties in Odisha and Telangana, the BJD and TRS, whom the BJP generally relied on for support for crucial bills, made strong and clear his opposition to the agricultural bills.
- News18.com
- Last update: September 20, 2020 4:48 PM IST
- FOLLOW US:
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday succeeded in passing both the controversial agricultural laws: the Agricultural Products Trade and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) Act of 2020, and the Farmers’ Agricultural Services and Price Guarantee Agreement (Empowerment and Protection), 2020: of the three proposed and approved in the Lok Sabha amid the uproar of opposition MPs. The government is likely to introduce the third farm bill in the Upper House of Parliament on Monday.
The bills were passed with voice votes while opposition deputies threw slogans against the bills into the chamber well. Dramatic scenes unfolded in Rajya Sabha shortly before the bills and their amendments were introduced. TMC MP Derek O ‘Brien said it was “a sad, sad day for parliamentary democracy” and claimed that despite the opposition’s demand for a vote, the government pushed the legislation with a heavy hand as it was outmatched in number on the subject.
Rajya Sabha had to be postponed for a few minutes after opposition MPs stole papers from the desk of Vice President Harivansh Narayan Singh and damaged the microphones on his desk. Marshals had to be called to control the situation.
Shortly after 1pm, when the union agriculture minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, responded to objections raised during the debate on the bills, the Vice President of the Republika Srpska announced an extension of the session time. Opposition leader Congressman Ghulam Nabi Azad objected, saying the chamber could only be extended by consensus and that consensus among members was to postpone the session until Monday, giving the minister enough time to respond to questions raised. . The opposition MPs created a scandal when Harivansh Singh continued the house proceedings. As he took the amendments and resolutions one by one, the opposition MPs ran to the well of the house in protest.
While the BJP succeeded in getting the two bills it had introduced in the upper house through voice vote, it has hardly come out stronger from the entire process. Three regional heavyweights, their oldest ally, Akali Dal of Punjab, and the ruling parties in Odisha and Telangana, the BJD and TRS, whom the BJP generally counted on for support for crucial bills, made strong and clear his opposition to the agricultural bills.
All three parties vehemently proposed the agricultural bills in their current state and proposed sending the bills to a select committee. Akali Dal’s Naresh Gujral warned the ruling party that it should not “allow the sparks ignited in Punjab and Haryana to turn into massive flames,” while TRS’s Keshava Rao described the bills as an attempt by the BJP to sell off agriculture. , the soul of India. .
He described the bills as a “direct and brutal assault on the rights of the state and the constitution” and said the bills “violate the spirit of our constitution.” BJD’s Amar Patnaik expressed apprehension that the bill, once implemented, would result in “market capture” by companies and said that “there is a sense that MSP is ready to go … There is a great lack of communication in the bill. “
BJP has relied on strong regional parties such as TRS, YSR Congress, and BJD when it came to tough situations by passing bills such as the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill, the UAPA (Amendment) Bill, the RTI (amendment) bill and the Triple Talaq. bill.
Together, the three parties send 19 deputies to the upper house. The other parties that clearly expressed their party’s stance against the bills were the Congress that has 40 (MP), SP (8 MP), Trinamool Congress (13 MP), DMK (7 MP), AAP (3 MP), NCP (4 MPs), RJD (5 MPs) and the CPI and CPI (M) that together send 6 MPs to the house.
The parties that clearly supported the bill were BJP (86), YSR Congress (6), AIADMK (9) and BPF (1). The leaders of Shiv Sena and the BSP raised some objections, but they also found merit in the bill.
While BJP leaders such as Bhupendra Yadav defended the bill during the discussion in the chamber stating that those who oppose the agricultural bills would be outdated as would the leaders who had opposed the construction of the Bhakra dam. Nangal, which ultimately turned out to be a huge success. However, opposition MPs like Pratap Singh Bajwa from Congress responded to the BJP asking the reasons for pushing through a bill that even RSS-affiliated organizations like Swadeshi Jagran Manch and Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh had expressed reservations against.
Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party described the bill as a “death sentence” for the country’s youth. Manoj Kumar Jha of RJD said the bill once passed would become the obituary for the country’s farmers. Former prime minister and JD (S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda wondered the reasons for the BJP’s rush to pass the bill. “The Prime Minister should explain what this bill will do for farmers in the short and long term,” he asked.
Congressman Ahmed Patel said the day will go down in history as a “black day.” “The way these bills were passed goes against democratic processes and amounts to killing democracy,” he said, adding that 12 opposition parties have filed a motion of no confidence against the vice president of Rajya Sabha.
.
