File photo of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Opposing the bills in the upper house, BJD deputy Amar Patnaik demanded that the agricultural sector bills be sent to a select committee.
- CNN-News18
- Last update: September 21, 2020 6:54 PM IST
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The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), led by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, took many by surprise when he opposed the two agricultural bills in the Upper House: the Agricultural Products Trade and Commerce Bill. (Promotion and Congratulation) of 2020, and the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services Bill, 2020, having extended the support to it in the Lok Sabha.
In the Lok Sabha, where the party has 12 deputies, no vote was taken on the contentious legislation. In Rajya Sabha, the party has nine MPs.
The party had recently endorsed the BJP-led NDA candidate for the Rajya Sabha vice president elections, but that was only after Bihar’s chief minister Nitish Kumar approached Patnaik twice. Also previously, the BJD had supported various contentious legislation of the Narendra Modi government such as the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and during the repeal of section 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Opposing the bill in the upper house, party deputy Amar Patnaik said: “What was required and long overdue was a revolution in agricultural markets. So these two bills, which according to the government will change the ecosystem of agricultural marketing, that is, in the fields, are largely well-intentioned, but completely or largely ignore implementation aspects. “
By demanding that the bills be sent to a select committee, the deputy touched on one of the sore points among farmers, the minimum support price (MSP). “We have a situation where the small, fringe trader doesn’t even have a chance to get an MSP. So is the Large Merchants Only Bill, a trade and commerce oriented bill. Is it intended for MSP dilution? There is a great lack of communication in the field, particularly with farmers in the shopping areas, ”he said.
The BJD’s contradictory moves on the bill in both houses of Parliament have puzzled many. Insiders feel the party played on the ‘surprise’ element effectively and noted that its support for crucial legislation cannot be taken for granted by the NDA.
A political analyst in Odisha said that the numbers in the Lok Sabha overwhelmingly favor the BJP-led NDA and thus the BJD’s opposition would not have been visible or shocking. “This would not be the case in the Upper House and the opposition of the BJD would matter much more and could also have put the NDA in trouble. The party played its cards well, while also sending a signal to its main voter base – farmers, ” said analyst Swadhin Satapathy.
As Odisha is a primarily agrarian state, Patnaik has worked to keep farmers happy. The state has a separate budget for agriculture. Courting farmers and landless workers was one of the key arguments in the BJP BJD elections in the 2019 elections.
In December 2018, the prime minister had announced the ‘Kalia’ plan which entitled marginal small farmers, tenant farmers and landless agricultural workers to cash benefits. Patnaik, who rarely leaves the state, followed with a ‘kisan’ rally in the national capital in January, demanding, among other things, the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations in full and the increase in MSP for rice from Rs 1,750 per quintal to Rs 2,390 per quintal.
Farmers’ protests in the western parts of the state are believed to be one of the reasons the party did not fare well in the Lok Sabha elections and gave way to the BJP.
Observers feel that while Patnaik’s support for the CAA or repeal of Article 370 in Kashmir would not directly affect voters in Odisha, support for the farm bill has the potential to backfire. Agriculture and related sectors contribute more than 21% to the state’s net domestic product, providing employment, directly and indirectly, to more than 70% of the population.
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