Farm bills, the government says, will help farmers get a better price for their produce (Archive)
New Delhi:
The Rajya Sabha is poised for a potentially explosive Sunday showdown over farm bills, with the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress trying to garner enough support to pass or defeat all three laws. All three sailed through the Lok Sabha earlier this week, but could face a stronger challenge in the Upper House, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party does not have a majority on its own and will need help from allies, inside and outside. of the NDA. There have been widespread protests over the “against farmers” bills, particularly in Punjab and Haryana, despite assurances from PM Modi that farmers can still benefit from a minimum selling price (MSP). The protests included one by former BJP ally Akali Dal; the Punjab party withdrew its representative from the Union Cabinet on Friday and is said to be reviewing its ties with the BJP-led NDA.
Here are the top 10 points of this great story:
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The current strength of the Upper House is 243 with a majority mark of 122. In what is already a very close race, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is expected to have around 105 votes, while the opposition should have around 100..
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Ten MPs have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been isolated at home. Fifteen other MPs, including P Chidambaram from Congress, who this morning criticized Prime Minister Modi for the agricultural bills, have expressed their inability to attend. Both developments should help the BJP as it reduces the majority mark.
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The BJP alone has 86 members and, with its NDA allies, can count on 105 votes. However, he cannot count on three Akali MPs, who have been given a three-line whip to vote against all agricultural bills. Despite this, the BJP remains confident that it will gather the necessary numbers for the three bills to pass.
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The Akali Dal, one of the BJP’s oldest allies, withdrew its sole representative, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, from the Union Cabinet on Friday in protest against the bills. Speaking to NDTV, Ms Badal said open communication between the government and farmers was necessary. Party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said the Akalis would review ties with the NDA.
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The BJP, which has issued its own three-line whip, according to the ANI news agency, is confident because, in the past, it has been able to convene regional “friendly” parties, such as the BJD of Odisha, the YSR Congress of Andhra Pradesh. and TRS of Telangana, to vote in their favor when necessary.
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Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress has six seats and K Chandrasekhar Rao’s TRS has seven. Naveen Patnaik’s BJD has nine seats. Sources say the government is confident that in total about 135 MPs will vote in favor of the agricultural bills, if a vote is necessary.
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The congressional-led opposition, on the other hand, which includes 13 parliamentarians from Trinamool’s Congress, will be on the defensive for tomorrow’s showdown. The Congress itself has 40 seats and may have several regional and smaller parties, such as the BSP (four seats), the Samajwadi Party (eight seats), and the Delhi AAP (three seats).
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The opposition will need people like the YSR Congress, the BJD and the TRS on board to have any chance of winning. Sources have said that Congress has reached out to these three, but the response is not encouraging.
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Worse still, the Shiv Sena, with whom Congress has formed a tripartite government in Maharashtra, has said that his three MPs will support the bills despite a spectacular dispute with the BJP after the Assembly elections last year. The BJP, the sources added, has also contacted the NCP, the third member of that alliance. The NCP has four Rajya Sabha seats.
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The government has said the bills will help small and marginal farmers by allowing them to sell their products at competitive prices anywhere in India. On Friday, Prime Minister Modi attacked a “disinformation” campaign. He said “fake news” was spreading that farmers would not get a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their products and that the government would not buy these products.
With contributions from ANI
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