Amid unruly and aggressive protests by opposition members, the Rajya Sabha on Sunday passed by voice vote two contentious farm bills that were earlier approved by the Lower House. The two bills - Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 - will now be sent to the President for his assent, setting the stage for a prolonged political confrontation which looks set to spill over to the streets in the northern states.
Besides the known opponents, the bill was opposed by BJP's estranged ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal, TRS and BJD which, in a rare instance, decided to vote "no". The bill, however, was backed by AIADMK and YRSCP, as well as smaller parties from the north-east and could have passed the numbers test if there had been one. The government's task would have been helped by the depleted numbers on the opposition benches with many members staying away because of Covid-19, and the tactical ambiguity of parties like BSP, NCP and Shiv Sena.
Opposition wanted bills to be sent to select committee
BSP, NCP and Shiv Sena expressed reservations about certain provisions of the bills but without displaying the vehemence which marked the response of Congress, TMC, DMK, AAP, SAD and the Left. In fact, opposition floor managers were reconciled to the prospect of the three staying away from a vote. The Opposition was demanding that the bills be sent to the select committee of the Rajya Sabha for a detailed scrutiny and the headcount be deferred. With the House plunging into utter bedlam as members of Congress, Trinamool and AAP stormed the well of the House and moved towards the podium to force deputy chairman Harivansh to go ahead with voting, the House had to be adjourned.
The two bills were declared passed by voice vote as the opponents persisted with protests after the resumption. While the bills - aimed at liberalising farm trade by ending the monopoly of mandis and loosening the grip of “arhatiyas” or middlemen over trade in agricultural commodities - are set to become law, the government will find itself dealing with protests outside Parliament. While Congress is set to step up its protest in Punjab, Haryana and in the immediate vicinity of the national capital, several farm organisations have called for a protest beginning with a dharna on September 25.
The government was not flinching from a fight either. It has already launched a fullscale counter-offensive, dubbing Congress and other parties opposing the bills as proxies of middlemen while denying the opposition’s charge that the soon-to-be-enacted laws will spell the end of the minimum support price scheme.
8 Oppn MPs suspended
Eight opposition members of the Rajya Sabha were suspended for a week on Monday for “unruly behaviour” during the passage of the bills on Sunday, with chairman M Venkaiah Naidu rejecting a notice for a no-confidence resolution against deputy chairman Harivansh Singh. The eight MPs, including Trinamool leader Derek O’Brien and Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party, however, continued with their protests and refused to leave the House despite repeated instructions from the chair. It led to multiple adjournments, with the proceedings being washed out without any business being transacted on Monday. The other MPs are Rajeev Satav, Syed Nasir Hussain and Ripun Bora of Congress, Dola Sen of TMC, and K K Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem of CPM. Expressing deep anguish, Naidu said, “It pained me a lot because what happened (during passage of the farm bills on Sunday) was unfortunate, unacceptable and condemnable. It was a very bad day for the Rajya Sabha.”
Akali minister Harsimrat quits
BJP's oldest ally, Shiromani Akali Dal, on Thursday withdrew from the Modi government in protest against the bills, with its sole representative in the government, minister for food processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal, submitting her resignation. Harsimrat, whose resignation was announced in Lok Sabha by fellow Akali MP and her spouse Sukhbir Singh Badal, said the Akali Dal’s protest to the legislations was not heeded and they could never be a party to any decision that went against the interests of farmers.
In her letter to the PM, Harsimrat attributed her resignation to “the decision of the government of India to go ahead with the controversial bills without addressing and removing the apprehensions of farmers and the decision of the Shiromani Akali Dal not to be a part of something that is anti-farmer.” Requesting the PM to accept her resignation with "immediate effect”, the minister said “before, during and after the promulgation of the three ordinances”, she had tried her best to persuade the cabinet to take the actual stakeholders of this decision, the farmers, on board and remove their apprehensions and concerns.
“All this while, I was given the impression that since an ordinance is only a temporary arrangement, my concerns and pleas would be addressed while legislating on the issue in Parliament,” Harsimrat said. She added that she was deeply hurt that despite her and her party’s persistent pleas and efforts in this regard, the government “had not taken farmers on board”.
