Farmers’ stir echoes in Parliament, opposition stalls work

NEW DELHI:

Agriculture

minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that the government was ready to discuss farm issues both in and outside

Parliament

even as the

opposition

staged loud protests over the

farmers

’ agitation, which disrupted proceedings in both Houses.


Before the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day amid the protests, Tomar said there were many questions relating to the farmers’ issues listed in Question Hour and urged members to allow them to be taken up. Tomar’s assurance on a discussion came after Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that 170 farmers had died during the ongoing agitation against the three contentious farm laws. “Atrocities are being committed on farmers. Situation is similar to British rule,” Chowdhury alleged.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day without transacting substantial business as Congress and other opposition members created an uproar demanding discussion on the farmers’ protest over the three new farm laws.

The opposition is likely to disrupt Lok Sabha again on Wednesday, a move that may put a serious question mark on the discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President’s address. The entire opposition, including the otherwise reluctant BSP, has joined hands to press for a discussion on the farmers’ issue.

Congress Lok Sabha MPs held a meeting chaired by Rahul Gandhi ahead of House proceedings. Senior congress sources said the party and the opposition wouldn’t relent despite the fact that the Motion of Thanks is a customary agenda and is passed with bipartisan support.

Some of the questions, listed for Question Hour, pertained to farm laws, minimum support price (MSP) and fate of APMC mandis. In written responses, the government sought to allay the concerns of the farmers over MSP and state-regulated ‘mandis’ while noting that there are no threats to the existing mechanism. In one reply, Tomar said, “The government does not have any proposal to end MSP.”

Opposition MPs forced repeated adjournments of the Rajya Sabha after chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu disallowed their notices to immediately take up a discussion on the farmers’ protests. Naidu said the members could raise the issue in detail during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President’s address, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, but to no avail.