Parliament passes two contentious Farm Bills amidst chaos and drama in Rajya Sabha

The motions to send the Bills to a Select Committee were also defeated.

High drama was witnessed in Rajya Sabha during the passage of two contentious farm sector Bills on Sunday with the Opposition MPs trooping to the Well of the House, shouting slogans, throwing the rule book at the Chair, breaking microphones and throwing papers.

An angry opposition did not leave the House even after it was adjourned at around 2 PM and sat on a dharna, protesting against Deputy Chairman Harivansh "not allowing" voting on their motion to send the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill to Select Committees.

The Opposition also moved a no-confidence motion against Harivansh, who was conducting the proceedings during the passage of the Bills, protesting against the "manner" in which he allowed the passage of two contentious farm sector bills without permitting a voting on its motions. He had also refused to accede to their request to postpone Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar's reply and voting on the Bills to Monday.

The two Bills aimed at replacing ordinances issued in April this year came to Rajya Sabha after its passage in Lok Sabha last week. The Opposition was against the Bills and wanted it to be sent to a Select Committee for which four MPs had submitted motions against it.

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Allegations and counter allegations flew thick and fast with the BJP accusing the Opposition of "murdering democracy" and resorting to "gundagardi" when it realised it did not have the numbers. Opposition responded saying the "dictatorial" attitude in continuing with the session and refusal to allow division of votes to motions and the Bill led to their protest.

The trouble started at 1 PM, the scheduled closing of the proceedings of a day, when Tomar was replying to the debate. Deputy Chairman Harivansh extended the sitting beyond 1 PM after a request from the government but this was objected to by Congress and others with Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the discussion could continue on Monday as such a move could be adopted only by consensus.

Harivansh over-ruled the Opposition and went ahead with the business and asked Tomar to resume his speech following which a few Opposition MPs first rushed to the Well. As Tomar concluded his reply within minutes, Harivansh took up voting on the Bills.

Also Read | Explainer: Why farmers across India are protesting the Farm Bills

It was then Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O'Brien rushed to the Chair waving the Rule Book while more MPs joined. One of MPs hurled the rule book at the Chair while O'Brien was arguing with Harivansh.

Microphones in front of the Chair were broken while allegations were raised against O'Brien that he tore the book. Denying the allegations, O'Brien said all rules were violated by the government while pushing these bills and "what is the use of a Rule Book when all rules are violated by the ruling party".

After waiting for a few minutes for the chaos to end, Harivansh then adjourned the House for 15 minutes. When the House resumed at 1:41 PM, the chaos continued and two MPs, AAP's Sanjay Singh and Congress' Rajeev Satav, climbed a table to protest while others shouted slogans. A video footage showed marshals trying to take Singh out of the House.

READ: Opposition files no-confidence motion against RS Dy Chairman Harivansh, sits on dharna inside House

Harivansh, however, continued with the proceedings. After negating the statutory resolutions objecting to the ordinances, Harivansh called CPI(M)'s K K Ragesh to move his motion to send the Bills to Select Committees and the latter demanded a division of votes. Amid the din, Harivansh moved forward after a voice vote, which further angered the Opposition. Ragesh told DH, "to seek a vote is an MP's right. That was denied."

Repeated attempts by Opposition MPs like Tiruchi Siva and others for voting on their motions and amendments were also not allowed with Harivansh asking protesting MPs to return their seats if they wanted a division. Harivansh also said MPs cannot seek voting while standing in the Well. The two bills were then passed by a voice vote.

While the Opposition justified its protest during the proceedings, BJP president J P Nadda said the opposition conduct was "highly irresponsible" and an "attack on democracy".

Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh said, "The dictatorial attitude of the Chair in not wanting to get a sense of the House, which is the convention to extend the session beyond the scheduled 1 pm, led to bedlam and chaos. The anti-farmer Bills were passed in the din without voting. Why the tearing urgency? On whose orders?"

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi accused the Opposition of murdering democracy and said the Congress and Trinamool Congress think they are 'badshahs' (emperors) but the ruling party and the government will not budge to this."

Tomar said Congress resorted to 'gundagardi' when it realised that it did not have the numbers to defeat the government.

With the passage of The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill in Rajya Sabha, the government is now looking at passing the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act and The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, the two other legislations the Opposition has objections and want it to go to a Select Committee.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill allows intra-state and inter-state trade of farmers’ produce beyond the physical premises of APMC markets while state governments are prohibited from levying any market fee, cess or levy outside APMC areas. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill seeks to provide for a national framework on farming agreements.

During the debate, Opposition MPs expressed concerns that the Bills will lead to doing away with the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Tomar responded saying MSP will continue and is not related to the legislations that seek to give farmers freedom to sell their produce.

"There are misconceptions being spread about the minimum support price (MSP). MSP is the government's administrative decision and not linked to the bills. MSP based procurement was there in the country, is there, and will continue," he said adding these "historic" legislations will bring "revolutionary" changes in the lives of farmers.

Initiating the debate from the Opposition, Congress' Pratap Singh Bajwa said his party opposes the "ill-conceived and ill-timed" Bills. "We will not sign on this death warrant of farmers," Singh said.

However, BJP's Bhupender Yadav countered the Congress saying, "I want to ask why has rural income reduced in the years you (Congress) were in power...Why are you opposing these Bills? Opposition always has a negative outlook on things."

Opposing the Bills, Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O'Brien said the credibility of the Modi government is low to make promises. "The Prime Minister is saying that the Opposition is misleading the farmers. You (Centre) said double farmer income by 2022. But, at current rates, the farmer income will not be doubled before 2028," he said.

Asking how many BJP MPs have read the Bills and demanding the Bill be sent to the Select Committee, O'Brien said the bills need to be scrutinised. "We can't do six minutes here, eight minutes there. We will keep fighting for our democratic right in parliament. You may have numbers, but we have the right to keep our say in a parliamentary democracy. We are following a very dangerous trend," he added.

Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav said there is "definitely some compulsion" that this government wants to rush through all these bills.

The resignation of Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur from the Union Cabinet protesting against the Bills came up during discussion. Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut said the Prime Minister has noted the government was not ending the MSP system and it was just a rumour. "So, did a union minister resign on the basis of a rumour?" he said.

Akali Dal MP Naresh Gujral demanded that the Bills be sent to Select Committees. "These Bills should be sent to a select committee so that all stakeholders can be heard. Don't think that the farmers of Punjab are weak. The farmer of Punjab feels threatened today by the bills you are about to pass. There is a trust deficit or a communication gap," he said.

The debate also had its share of drama when YSR Congress' Vijaysai Reddy made a remark against Congress, which was expunged. Reddy said there was no reason to oppose these Bills and made the remark, prompting Congress Deputy Leader Anand Sharma and others to demand an apology.