Key Points :
- The Rajya Sabha passed two of the three disputed Farmer bills – The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 on Sunday.
- The bills were passed by taking a voice vote in the Upper house of the parliament.
- The opposition alleged that BJP did not have the numbers to do so and created a ruckus in the parliament raising slogans, damaging property and protesting.
- The bills are expected to provide barrier-free trade for farmers’ produce outside Mandis and empower them to enter agreements with private companies.
The Rajya Sabha passed two of the three disputed Farmer bills – The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 by voice vote on Sunday.
The bills were passed amidst major tumult among the opposition parties in the Upper House of the Parliament.
The Opposition, lacking the numbers needed to block the bill, had demanded that the bills be sent to a select committee for further review. This motion was negated and the Deputy Chairman moved to conduct a voice vote on the bill.
The ruckus began when the Deputy Chairman requested the members’ nod to extend the parliamentary sitting beyond 1 pm in order to aid the passage of the bills.The Rajya Sabha witnessed an unprecedented uproar during the passage of the farm bills as opposition members resorted to shouting slogans, climbed the podium and broke the chairman’s mic and snatched and threw papers from the table.
The Opposition alleged that the Centre rampantly violated the rules and did not have the numbers to pass the bills. The opposition MPs staged a protest outside the house for a while which was followed by 47 of them moving a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Singh.
Trinamool Congress’s Derel O’Brien, termed it “a muder of democracy” and said “This does not end here.”
Mr. O’Brien, later stated that the Rajya Sabha TV was “cut off” and censored” in a video statement. Opposition leaders from DMK, Trinamool Congress and other parties have questioned the bill due to farmers’ protesting and terming the bills “anti-farmer.”
Union Minister of agriculture and farmer welfare Narendra Singh Tomar said in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday, “The two bills are historic and will bring a change in the lives of the farmers. The farmers will be able to freely trade their produce anywhere in the country. I want to assure the farmers that these bills are not related to Minimum Support Price (MSP).”
Prime Minister Modi in his statement had called the bill “historic.”
The bills are expected to provide barrier-free trade for farmers’ produce outside Mandis and empower them to enter agreements with private companies. However, farmers claim the proposed laws are “anti-farmer” and will “destroy” livelihoods.
