Bedlam erupts as 2 key farm bills passed in RS; MPs tear up papers
Voice vote amid chaos, book hurled at Chair Murder of democracy: O’Brien
The Rajya Sabha on Sunday passed two key farm bills amid utter pandemonium as several Opposition MPs charged towards the presiding officer’s podium, flung the rulebook at him, tore up official papers and heckled him over their demand for a division over the bills.
The Upper House, which also saw a brief adjournment due to the chaos, later passed by voice vote the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce ( Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020, and the Farmers ( Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill 2020. These bills have already been passed by the Lok Sabha and will now go to the President for his assent before being notified as laws.
A third bill, the Essential Commodities ( Amendment) Bill 2020, a part of the broader farm liberalisation plan, could not be taken up as the House was adjourned for the day. It will be moved separately later.
The trouble started when the sitting of the House was extended beyond the scheduled time to allow passage of the bills. The Opposition MPs, who felt such a move should be resorted to only by consensus, rushed into the Well, shouting slogans against the government and accusing it of being anti- farmer. This forced agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar to cut short his reply and deputy chairman Harivansh took up the approval of the bills.
The Opposition claimed the government did not have the numbers and to cover it up, all rules were violated. “This does not end here,” said Trinamul Congress member Derek O’Brien, terming it a “murder of democracy”. Mr O’Brien later tweeted: “They cheated. They broke every rule in Parliament. It was a historic
day. In the worst sense of the word. They cut the RSTV feed so that the country couldn’t see. They censored RSTV. Don’t spread propaganda. We have evidence.”
Incidentally, when the ruckus was going on in the Upper House, the audio of the Rajya Sabha Television was not broadcast. The Opposition, which lacked the numbers to block the bills, had demanded that the bills be sent to a select committee for further discussion.
The trouble intensified as the deputy chairman
said that the Opposition’s resolution was negated and moved to pass the bills by voice vote. The Opposition demanded physical voting, pointing out that they were sitting in Parliament. When the Chair refused, they rushed to the Well of the House, tore up the rulebook and tried to snatch the deputy chairman’s microphone. House marshals thwarted the move and also blocked a book that was flung towards Mr Harivansh. An attempt was made to pull the microphones away from the Chair, but the marshals physically stopped that from happening. “Mahabharat has broken out inside Parliament,” Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad said. The Opposition MPs could be seen recording the moment on the cellphones, drawing repeated rebukes from the Chair.
The House was adjourned immediately for 10 minutes, and after it again resumed, the voice vote took place amid repeated Opposition slogans. The Farmers’
Produce Trade and Commerce ( Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020 seeks to give freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside the notified APMC market yards ( mandis). This, the government says, is aimed at facilitating remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels.
Farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce under this law, according to the government. It will open more choices for farmers, reduce marketing costs, and help them get better prices. It will also help farmers of regions with surplus produce to get better prices and consumers in areas with shortages at lower prices.
The Farmers ( Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill 2020 seeks to give farmers the right to enter into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre- agreed price.
It seeks to transfer the risk of market unpredictability from farmers to sponsors. The agriculture minister said these new laws will guarantee cultivators the price they negotiate at the time of sowing itself.
A third bill, the Essential Commodities ( Amendment) Bill 2020, that seeks to remove commodities like cereals, pulses from the list of essential commodities, is to be moved separately.