Haryana Cong cries foul over rejection of MSP guarantee bill

CHANDIGARH: The Opposition Congress in the Haryana assembly on Friday cried foul after a private member’s Bill guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) to farmers was rejected by assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta on opening day of the budget session.

The private member’s Bill was submitted by Congress MLAs to amend the Haryana Agricultural Produce Markets Act and thereby ensuring dispensation of MSP to farmers under a legal framework.

The argument taken by the speaker to disallow tabling of the amendment Bill – that the intent of the legislation is to amend the central farm laws and the Supreme Court has stayed implementation of the central laws - was criticised and opposed by the Congress MLAs.

CLP leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Rohtak MLA BB Batra said the amendment being sought by them was for a state law enacted by the Vidhan Sabha which is the competent forum to amend it.

The Congress MLAs argued with the speaker and CM ML Khattar over rejection of the amendment Bill without any success. “This showed the intent of the government. It is clear that the government is dithering on giving MSP under a legislation to the farmers,” Hooda told reporters. He said that the Speaker went against the rule book to reject the private member’s Bill and the Congress MLAs will again take up the issue on Monday when the assembly session resumes.

Cong’s no-confidence motion to be discussed on March 10

Meanwhile, Speaker Gupta said that the motion of no confidence submitted by Congress legislators will be taken up for discussion in the assembly on March 10. Soon after the obituary resolutions were completed, Hooda stood up to point out to the speaker that a motion expressing want of confidence in the Haryana government was proposed by the Congress MLAs and the Speaker should give a ruling on it. The Speaker then told Hooda that it was decided during the business advisory committee (BAC) meeting that the motion of no confidence will be taken up and discussed on March 10.

Later, Hooda said that no confidence motion will bring out in public which MLAs vote in support of farmers and who all are in support of the “anti-farmer government”.

He said that they need to move a no confidence motion because the BJP-JJP government has completely lost public confidence and the coalition is betraying public opinion and taking anti-people decisions one after the other. “This is why the public no longer has any faith in the government. The situation has become such that the CM, ministers and the MLAs are scared of meeting people,” he said.