Jubilee Post News & Views
Jubilee News Desk
Rajya Sabha passed two contentious farm bills, which triggered protests by farmers at several places, amid uproar by opposition members in the parliament.
The two 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 — were passed by Lok Sabha on Thursday. The House also rejected the demand of several opposition parties to send the two bills to a Rajya Sabha Select Committee for greater scrutiny.
These bills will now be sent to the President of India for assent. The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks to provide freedom to farmers to sell their products anywhere in the country.
The second bill, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, provides for a national framework on farming agreements that protects and empowers farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for farm services.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the passing of the farm bills in parliament was “watershed moment in history of Indian agriculture” as he hailed the laws cleared by Rajya Sabha amid chaos and drama in the Rajya Sabha.
The opposition parties on Sunday moved a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh after he overruled opposition pleas for postponing Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s reply to the debate on the two farm bills for Monday. Opposition had demanded postponing as the scheduled sitting time of the House was over.
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Upper House of Parliament passed The Farmers’ and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, through voice vote.
“He (Harivansh) should safeguard the democratic traditions but instead, his attitude today harmed the democratic traditions & processes. So, we have decided to move a no-confidence motion against him,” news agency quoted Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel as saying.
TMC MP Derek O’Brien accused the government of murdering the Parliamentary system and democracy. In a video, shared via his Twitter handle, O’Brien said, “The government did not allow us in the Opposition on the farmers’ bills… They knew they weren’t in a position to pass the bills, so they cut RSTV feed so that the country couldn’t see our protest.”
Akhilesh Yadav the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh tweeted had termed the bill as anti farmer a day before and also tweeted that the voice of the opposition was snubbed with voice vote.
The agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, “Today in the Rajya Sabha two agriculture reform bills have been passed. Farmers were forced to sell their produce in Mandis at unfair prices earlier. Now they can sell to anyone at their own decided prices. MSPs will stay. It’s a historic day today.”
Proceedings in the Upper House were adjourned for a brief period after opposition parties surrounded the well of the House and protested against the government’s alleged hurry to push the contentious farm bills.
