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New Delhi: Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will propose a bill repealing the three farm rules today in the parliament, as the BJP has issued a whip to its Lok Sabha MPs to attend. Today parliament starts the winter session of 2021.
Earlier, the party issued a whip to its Rajya Sabha members.
Last night, Congress issued a three-line whip to all of its members of parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha).
The bill to repeal the farm legislation is one of 26 bills set to be debated during Parliament’s winter session. Others include the divisive cryptocurrency measure and another that would lower the government’s stake in public sector banks from 51% to only 26%.
The Union Cabinet approved a bill last week to repeal the agriculture laws, which were passed during last year’s monsoon session and have been the focus of furious demonstrations since then. The bill will be thoroughly scrutinized by an opposition determined to question the administration at every turn.
Farmers across the country have been protesting against the government’s (unexpected) decision to recall the laws, claiming that the three laws will put them at the whim of corporate interests and undermine the MSP (minimum support price) scheme.
The opposition has questioned the timing, linking it to the BJP’s widely perceived image problems, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, where incidents such as the alleged running over the four farmers at Lakhimpur Kheri (allegedly by a convoy led by a union minister’s son) haven’t helped the party’s cause.
Home Minister Amit Shah convened a high-profile meeting of union ministers on Thursday to lay out the government’s strategy for the upcoming session. The event was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, and I&B Minister Anurag Thakur.
Meanwhile, across the aisle, the opposition has formed its own huddle.
In the first exchange of fire ahead of the winter session, the Congress had a meeting of its Parliamentary group yesterday, chaired by Sonia Gandhi, and the party (supported by over a dozen other opposition parties) skipped a Constitution Day event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Shiv Sena, the NCP, the DMK, the RJD, and the Left were among the parties that did not participate, in addition to the Congress and the Trinamool Congress.
The farmers, who yesterday observed the one-year anniversary of their protests, have rejected the Prime Minister’s request that they take a break at this time. They have stated that they will continue to protest until the three laws are formally repealed, as well as another to ensure the passage of MSP.
The government has yet to comment on a measure affecting MSPs.
Earlier, farmers have announced that they will march on Parliament on Monday, with 60 tractors and over 1,000 people, to demonstrate their resolve in this topic, according to farmer leader Rakesh Tikait.