As the ‘rebellious behavior’ of Rajya Sabha lawmakers over two controversial farm bills escalated into a major feud between the center and the opposition, Aam Aadmi party deputy Sanjay Singh accepted that he had risen to the House table on Sunday and even broke the microphone But Singh explained that it was to “safeguard democracy.”
“Yes, I accept that I had gotten on the table. Yes, I accept that I broke the microphone. However, all I did was to safeguard democracy. First, for the government to apologize, take the bill to the House and assure It is division of votes. The government has committed a sin and strangled democracy, “he told News18.
The opponents, objecting to the way in which the two agrarian bills were being approved, had broken into the well of the Chamber on Sunday and when their demand for a vote was not answered, they tore papers, climbed onto the tables, shouted slogans and he allegedly threw the rulebook at Harivansh, who was presiding at the time.
CNN-News18’s Rupashree nanda I talk to Sanjay singh on the subject of agrarian bills, the opposition protest and its future course of action. Below are edited excerpts from the interview:
When Venkaiah Naidu spoke today, he said that none of the deputies had expressed any regrets. Would you agree that perhaps the form of your protest was incorrect?
Look, MPs are not mentally deprived or insane. They are responsible members of the country’s Parliament. Parliamentarians expected the government to do justice and run the Chamber in accordance with the Law and the Constitution. Look, how all the rules were broken. The deputies asked to vote on this bill, but the government was not willing, the president was not willing. The government should be ashamed, apologize to millions of farmers who did not put the bill to a vote and passed it despite being a minority. BJP strangled democracy and passed this bill. It is the government that should be ashamed, it should regret. They must cover their faces in black.
Yes, I accept that I had climbed on the table. Yes, I accept that I broke the microphone. However, everything I did was to safeguard democracy, they are the ones who were murdering democracy. They passed a bill against farmers, a black bill by force. Along with Trichi Siva, many deputies demanded the division of votes from their chairs, and this is the law and tradition, even if a person asks, the vote has to happen. However, BJP didn’t have the numbers. This bill would not have passed. What else could we have done?
What you are saying is your point of view. But the government also has its own point of view. Venkaiah Naidu has also cited rules and said vote splitting can still occur.
Let the government return the bills to the House and divide the votes. We are ready for that. Then everything will be clear. AIADMK, BJD wanted invoices to be referred to select com. TRS was with us.
Congress (40), TMC (13), BJD (9), AIADMK (9), SP (8), TRS (7), RJD (5), NCP (4), BSP (4), AAP (3), SAD (3), Shiv Sena (3), CPI-M (5), CPI-1, DMK (7), IUML (1), PDP (2), JMM-1, Kerala Cong-1, MDMK-1, JDS-1, LJD-1, and TDP-1 opposed the bills during debate.
You protested both inside and outside the House. What did your protest accomplish? The bills were passed anyway.
If the government strangles democracy and becomes shameless, does not respect the Constitution, laws and regulations deceive farmers, what can be done? Everything we could have done, we did, we protested. We can look farmers in the eye and say that we fought as hard as we could. We will not be ashamed. We are not going to Parliament to show our faces. Let’s raise the voice of the kisan, youth, aam aadmi. And in front of us, this black bill was passed in an undemocratic manner, despite the fact that the Government did not have the numbers and was in the minority.
Would you consider apologizing?
First let the government apologize, return the bill to the House, make sure there is a division of votes, the government has committed a sin, it strangled democracy. Are you saying that someone will strangle you and you won’t even cry?
How will you carry out this fight? Many opposition parties joined in this. How will this be carried out so that your objections are addressed?
Our party is already agitating in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Yesterday our Karyakartas were beaten mercilessly. We will take the fight to the streets. You can’t play those tricks on farmers. This is the same government, are they now announcing that they will give MSP?
Modiji had promised in 2014 that 50% of the cost price would be delivered to farmers. I wonder why the media doesn’t remember that? And then the government itself backed down in the Supreme Court. In six years, has any media posed this question to the government?
So you don’t trust the government’s promises?
Why should you trust the government? In GST, they said ‘one nation, some taxes’, today they are not giving the share of the state, instead of the promised two million jobs, an army of 12 million unemployed was created. Demonetization was supposed to change the destiny of the country, neither black money nor terrorism ended. So what has been the result of your great promises? And I’m asking, in this whole farm bill, why was MSP not mentioned.
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