IT Correspondent
New Delhi, Sept. 21:
While two agricultural reforms bills were passed by Rajya Sabha amid bedlam on Sunday, over 250 farmers and farm-worker organisations, organised under the umbrella of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) have given a call for a “Bharat Bandh” on September 25.
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 which were passed by Lok Sabha on Thursday, were passed by the Rajya Sabha on Sunday by a voice vote, even as the opposition protested against the legislations and stormed into the well of the House.
Opposition members from the Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam were seen on camera tearing documents – some reports claimed it was the rule book — and rushing to the chairman to register their protest. This led the Centre’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to demand action over violation of rules. No division of votes was sought as opposition members continued to oppose the chair’s decision to extend the house beyond the scheduled 1 PM closing time to complete the voting process.
A section of the opposition demanded that the two bills be sent to a select committee for further scrutiny. The opposition members, who had earlier moved amendments, refused to participate in the proceedings when the bill was being put to vote.
The main opposition Congress and a clutch of smaller parties are opposed to the government’s farm liberalisation plan. A key opposition to the bills came on Thursday from BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal, whose minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the Union Cabinet “over efforts to unshackle the farm sector”.
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, allows buyers of farm produce to trade outside wholesale markets run by states under APMCs, which have become cartelised over time. APMC laws require farmers to sell produce only to licensed middlemen in notified markets, usually in the same area where they reside, rather than in open markets, which economists say scuttles price discovery, hurting farm profits. The bill enables farmers and buyers of their produce to trade outside these markets without any taxes and will therefore open up APMC to competitions.
However according to Bharatiya Kisan Union General Secretary Jagmohan Singh, “These three Bills will completely stop the government procurement of crops, bringing to a grinding halt the price security for peasants as private ‘mandis’ shall be set up and price and trade regulation of all cereals, all pulses, all oil seeds, onion, potato shall be removed from coverage under essential commodities.
While the farmers in Punjab have decided to stop movement of trains from September 24, the farmers in Haryana, have already began protest against farm bills saying that this will be end of minimum support price offered by the Government to the farmers’ produce. On Sunday some of the farmers in Haryana burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, protesting against the farm bills. Two MLAs from the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), which is part of the BJP-led ruling coalition in Haryana, also participated in the protests, reflecting a rift on the issue among their ranks on the issue.
