NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha passed two out of government’s three contentious farm bills amid unprecedented protests at parliament and famers’ agitation countrywide. Like in the Lok Sabha, the bills were passed by voice vote. There were two bills passed today - one that deregulated sale of farm produce and another pertaining to agricultural contracts.
The bills were passed after dismissing members’ demands for having the bill first scrutinised by Select Committee . There remains one more bill to pass the Upper House.
Rajya Sabha witnessed high drama today before the amendment-bills could be put to vote. Opposition members stormed toward the Chairman with leaders from DAMK, Congress and CPI(M) insisting that the bill be vetted by Select Committee before the vote.
Later the Bill was passed even as Opposition argued the amendments ran against interests of the farming community and were designed to serve corporate goals. Anti-bill protests that has rippled throughout the country has now put BJP in tight spot. Protests that took off from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh has spread to sites around the country.
The farming communities feel cheated by Modi government and view the amendment as end of the Minimum Support Price(MSP) era that secured their agricultural livelihood. The bills, that remove the restriction on quantities of farm produce that can be stored privately, do not make any mention on MSP. And, although Prime Minister and BJP President verbally assure of continuing the MSP arrangement, the words can’t be taken for granted, said All-India Kissan Sanngharsh Coordination Committee Convener, VM Singh.
The states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh that contribute toward bulk of FCA procurement, will become first casualties of the amendments. BJP allies in both Punjab and Haryana opposed the bills in parliament. Protests have now spread to agrarian states of Telangana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Jharkhand.
The bills are detrimental to consumers as well as existing distribution network. Only corporate entities stand to gain, the leaders from farming communities point out. The protest rallies slated for 25th September will prove decisive to future course of events. In Bihar, where Assembly elections are imminent, public are antagonised with Nitish Kumar government.
As farmers’ protests gather momentum, JDU-BJP is increasingly on the edge. BJP lost out on two states after snapping alliance with Shiva Sena and Telgu Desam. And in Punjab, it will have to contest 2022 state elections all by itself. These anti-farmer bills are also set to be BJP’s undoing in state elections of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Pudhuchery, slated to be held next year.
