The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday managed to push through both the controversial farm 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 — of the three it had proposed and got passed in the Lok Sabha amid uproar from opposition MPs. The government is likely to introduce the third farm bill in the Upper House of Parliament on Monday.
The bills were passed with voice votes while opposition MPs were sloganeering against the bills in the well of the house. Dramatic scenes unfolded in Rajya Sabha shortly before the bills and their amendments were being introduced. TMC MP Derek O’ Brien said that it was “sad, sad day for Parliamentary democracy” and alleged that despite opposition’s demand for a vote the government pushed through the legislation with a heavy hand since it was outnumbered on the issue.
Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned for a few minutes after some opposition MPs snatched papers from the desk of the vice-chairperson, Harivansh Narayan Singh, and damaged the microphones on his desk. Marshals had to be called in to control the situation.
Soon after 1 o’clock when union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar was responding to the objections raised during the debate on the bills, the RS deputy chairperson announced an extension in the time of the session. The leader of the opposition, Congress’ Ghulam Nabi Azad objected, saying that the house could only be extended through consensus and the consensus among members was to adjourn the house till Monday, giving the minister enough time to respond to the questions raised. Opposition MPs then created ruckus when Harivansh Singh continued the proceedings of the house. As he took the amendments and resolutions one by one, opposition MPs rushed to the well of the house in protest.
While BJP ended up getting both the bills it had introduced in the upper house passed through voice vote, it has hardly emerged stronger from the entire process. Three regional heavyweights – its oldest ally, Punjab’s Akali Dal, and the ruling parties in Odisha’s and Telangana, the BJD and TRS – which the BJP usually banked on to get support for crucial bills, made their opposition to the farm bills loud and clear.
All three parties vehemently proposed the farm bills in their present state and proposed sending the bills to a select committee. Akali Dal’s Naresh Gujral warned the ruling party that it should not “let the sparks lit in Punjab and Haryana turn into massive flames”, while Keshava Rao of the TRS described the bills as an attempt by the BJP to sell agriculture, the soul of India.
He described the bills as a “direct and brutal assault on state rights and constitution” and said that the bills “violate the spirit of our constitution.” BJD’s Amar Patnaik expressed apprehension that the bill when implemented would result in a “market capture” by the corporates and said that “there is a feeling that MSP is set to go…There is a huge miscommunication in the bill.”
BJP has relied on strong regional parties such as the TRS, the YSR Congress and BJD when it came to crunch situations in passing bills such as the Jammu and Kashmir reorganization bill, UAPA (amendment) bill, RTI (amendment) bill and the Triple Talaq bill.
Together the three parties send 19 MPs to the upper house. The other parties that clearly expressed their party’s stance against the bills included the Congress which has 40 (MPs), SP (8 MPs), Trinamool Congress (13 MPs), DMK (7 MPs), AAP (3 MPs), NCP (4 MPs), RJD (5 MPs) and the CPI and CPI(M) which together send 6 MPs to the house.
Parties that clearly supported the bill included BJP (86), YSR Congress (6), AIADMK (9) and BPF (1). Leaders of Shiv Sena and the BSP raised some objections but also found merit in the bill.
While BJP leaders such as Bhupendra Yadav defended the bill during discussion in the house claiming that those opposing the farm bills would be antiquated just like the leaders who had opposed the construction of Bhakra Nangal Dam, which ultimately turned out to be a great success. However, opposition MPs such as Congress’s Pratap Singh Bajwa hit back at the BJP asking it the reasons for pushing for a bill that even RSS affiliate organisations like Swadeshi Jagran Manch and Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh had expressed their reservations against.
Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav described the bill as a “death warrant” for the country’s youth. Manoj Kumar Jha of the RJD said that the bill once passed would become the obituary of the country’s farmers. Former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda wondered the reasons for the hurry shown by the BJP in passing the bill. “The Prime Minister should explain what this bill will do for farmers in short and long term,” he asked.
Congress MP Ahmed Patel said that the day will go down in history as “black day”. “The way these bills have been passed goes against the democratic processes and amounts to killing democracy,” he said, adding that 12 Opposition parties have moved a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha deputy chairman.
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