Parliament passes Farm Laws Repeal Bill sans discussion, opposition displeased
Delhi -Parliament’s both houses passed the Farm Laws Repeal Bill during its winter session, thereby formally repealing the three contentious farm laws against which since past one year farmers were protesting. Interestingly, the bill was passed in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha without any debate or discussions, quite upsetting the opposition.
The opposition members came to the well of the Lok Sabha raising slogans and banners, demanding a debate on the bill. Om Birla, Speaker of the House agreed to allow a discussion on the bill, provided there was order in the House. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha within four minutes after it was tabled at 12:06 pm. According to critics, the government by by-passing debate successfully evaded any discussions over minimum support price for farmers’ produce, which has been a key demand by the farmers during agitation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said before the beginning of the session, “The government is ready to debate any issue and answer any question. We should debate in Parliament and maintain the decorum of the proceedings.”
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In Rajya Sabha, the bill was introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi and was passed by the Upper House by a voice vote. 12 opposition members were suspended from Rajya Sabha for the remaining session due to their misbehavior during the last day of the Monsoon Session under Rule 256. The suspended members include Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, Ripun Bora, Rajamani Patel, Syed Nasir Hussain and Akhilesh Prasad Singh of the Congress; Dola Sen, Shanta Chhetri of TMC; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Anil Desai of Shiv Sena; Elamaram Kareem of CPM; and Binoy Viswam of CPI. Following the suspension, the House was adjourned till tomorrow.
During the 19 sittings of the Winter Session in Parliament, the government is expected to introduce more than 30 legislative Bills and one Finance Bill. The bills to be passed in Winter Session include Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021, and the Electricity (Amendment) Bill.
