Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Showing great urgency to wash its hands of the three contentious farm laws that have burnt its fingers, the government on Monday got Parliament approval for its repeal bill within minutes, brushing aside demands for a debate.
With that, the three laws entered the dustbin of history.
The Centre managed to get the proverbial monkey off its back after a year.
When the legislations were rammed through in Parliament last year, the Centre had claimed they would usher in revolutionary reforms that would change the fate of agriculture and farmers in India.
While NDA floor managers claimed there was no precedent for discussion on repeal bills, leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury argued that records since 2014 show both Houses had discussed such legislations.
The process began at 12.07 pm when Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asked Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar to present item number 14, Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021, which proposed negating the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.
By 12.10 pm, Lok Sabha passed the bill by voice vote and adjourned for the day amidst sloganeering by the Opposition, whose members stayed put in the well of the House demanding a discussion on the bill.
Two hours later, Rajya Sabha passed the bill in five minutes flat. Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, who was allotted two minutes to make his point, attacked the Centre for alleged “deaths of 700 farmers during the year long agitation against the farm laws”.
Last year, Lok Sabha had witnessed a spirited debate on the laws for five-and-a-half hours during which Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal announced his decision to walk out of the ruling NDA alliance in protest. Rajya Sabha, too, had discussed the bills for about two hours.
In his brief remarks on Monday, Tomar regretted that the government could not convince the agitating farmers about the benefits of the laws, reiterating claims that the Congress-led previous governments had also argued for agrarian reforms.
DMK leader Tiruchy Siva said the repeal bill was circulated as supplementary business, but was not even discussed in the day’s Business Advisory Committee meeting. Earlier in the day, leaders of 11 Opposition parties met at Kharge’s office in Parliament to formulate a strategy on matters to be taken up for debate. The Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party abstained.
Clocking it
5.5 hours: Spirited debate in Lok Sabha on the three contentious bills on Sept 17, 2020; passed by voice vote. Shiromani Akali Dal walks out of the NDA in protest.
Two hours: Debate in Rajya Sabha on Sept 20, 2020; bills passed by voice vote.
Three minutes: Time taken by Lok Sabha to approve the repeal bill on Nov 29, 2021.
Five minutes: Was all Rajya Sabha required to pass the repeal bill on Nov 29, 2021.
