Sharad Pawar today announced a one-day fast to express his solidarity with 8 suspended Rajya Sabha members.
New Delhi:
Maharashtra veteran leader Sharad Pawar today announced a one-day fast to express his solidarity with eight Rajya Sabha members suspended in chaos during a vote on controversial farm bills. Congress and other opposition parties have announced a boycott of the Rajya Sabha for the remainder of the session unless the suspension is revoked.
“I will not eat anything today in solidarity with the protesting members,” Sharad Pawar, Rajya Sabha member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), told reporters.
On Sunday, two farm bills were passed by oral vote in Rajya Sabha amid massive opposition protests. A rule book was thrown at the president, two members climbed onto a table, papers were ripped, and they threw themselves into the air and microphones ripped out as the opposition tried to block the vote.
The opposition has accused Vice President Harivansh, who was in the presidency at the time, of helping the government speed up bills in the House despite his lack of numbers. The parties allege that their demands for further discussion on the bills were rejected and a voice vote was forced in the chamber.
“I have never seen bills like this passed. They (the government) wanted to pass these bills soon. Members had questions about the bill. Prima facie it seems they didn’t want a discussion … When members they didn’t get a response they went into the well, “Pawar said, defending opposition protests in the House.
“The members were expelled for expressing their opinion. The vice president has not prioritized the rules,” said the former union minister.
Pawar also accused the central government of pursuing an agenda against political opponents by sending them tax notices.
He said he had also received a notification after Maharashtra Prime Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray (Shiv Sena) and Supriya Sule (his daughter and PNC MP).
“They love some people,” Pawar said, pointing to the BJP-led central government.
The farm laws, passed in both houses, will soon go to President Ram Nath Kovind for approval before they become law.
The government says the bills will make it easier for farmers to sell their produce directly to large buyers, reform an outdated system and remove middlemen from the equation, allowing farmers to sell to institutional buyers and large retailers. The opposition argues that farmers will lose their bargaining power if retailers have tighter control over them. The parties also believe that the proposed laws will destroy wholesale markets that guarantee fair and timely payments to farmers and affect the state economy.
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