Updated: September 19, 2020 7:16:44 pm
Rao said the bills “must be opposed and voted against in Rajya Sabha” as they would result in huge losses for the agricultural sector. (File photo)
Claiming that the agricultural bills introduced by the NDA government would cause great injustice to the country’s farmers, TRS President and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday called on his party’s MPs to vote. against them in Rajya Sabha.
Everyone three agricultural ordinances ––– Trade in Agricultural and Agricultural Products (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020; The Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services Ordinance, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, were passed in Lok Sabha earlier this week. These are listed to be discussed and passed on at the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.
Noting that the bills would benefit businesses and harm farmers, Rao told TRS parliamentary party leader K Keshav Rao to strongly oppose them in the Upper House of Parliament.
“Chief Minister Sri K Chandrasekhar Rao said that farmers and agriculture-related bills presented by the Center in Parliament would cause many injustices in the country’s agricultural sector. The CM has instructed the TRSPP leader, Dr. K Keshav Rao, to oppose the bills tooth and nail in Parliament as it would benefit businesses and negatively affect farmers, ”the PTI said, citing an official statement.
The bills apparently say that farmers can sell their products anywhere in the country, but in reality they would allow traders to go anywhere in the country to buy the products, Rao said. Even when the government in the Center says that farmers can sell their products anywhere in the country, is it possible for farmers to take their small products to other places, incurring high transportation costs?
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“These Bills are nothing more than a sugar coated pill. This must be opposed at all costs, ”said the CM.
Rao further said that there is now a 50 percent import tax on corn and that the Center has decided to reduce it by 15 percent. The Center wanted to import a crore of tons of corn, of which 70 lakh of corn had already been purchased, he said.
“For whose benefit was 35 percent of import duties reduced? When the country is going through an economic crisis, how did you make that decision? Corn is grown in a big way in the country. If we reduce the import duty on corn, what will happen to our own corn growers? ” I ask.
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Rao said the bills “should be opposed and voted against in Rajya Sabha” as they would result in huge losses for the agricultural sector and go against the interests of farmers.
TRS has seven members in Rajya Sabha.
Explained | Why three farm laws have pushed Akali Dal to resign from the Modi cabinet
Formerly Minister of the Union Harsimrat Badal had resigned from the Cabinet on the three contentious farm laws, indicating an unusually strong position taken by his Shiromani Akali Dal party, a longtime BJP ally. Akali Dal President Sukhbir Badal had said that the party was never consulted on the ordinances and that Harsimrat, his wife, had told the government about farmers’ reserves.
Farmers in Haryana and Punjab have been mobilizing against the ordinances / bills. The party voted against the Bills on Lok Sabha.
With PTI inputs
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