Rajasthan Congress blames BJP govt for not being serious about farmers' issues, disrupt Assembly session

Jaipur: Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Rajasthan Assembly on Tuesday as the opposition Congress MLAs alleged that the government was not serious on farmers’ issues and demanded a complete crop loan waiver. [caption id=“attachment_4160489” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The proceedings were disrupted and the House was adjourned during the Question Hour over opposition protests on the issue. At 1 pm when the House reassembled, there were protests and several Congress legislators sat on a ‘dharna’ (sit-in) in the Well of the House. There was uproar as the Congress MLAs accused the state government of not being serious on farmers’ issues. Demanding a complete crop loan waiver, nearly a dozen Congress legislators trooped into the Well of the House and shouted slogans for waiving off farmers’ loans, for almost an hour, even as the proceedings continued. Congress deputy whip Govind Singh Dotasara along with other legislators sought to draw attention of the House towards the issue but the Speaker did not pay any heed. A few minutes later, Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi too joined them and all of them sat on a dharna in the Well of the House. For almost an hour, one after the other Congress legislators raised issues like farmer suicides, power-cuts, seed and fertiliser issues and loan waiver while notifications were tabled in the house and a debate on The Rajasthan Farmers’ Participation in Management of Irrigation Systems (Amendment) Bill, 2017 and The Rajasthan Relief Undertakings (Special Provisions) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 continued. During the debate on the Irrigation Systems (Amendment) Bill, BJP legislator from Kota, Prahlad Gunjal, accused Congress legislators of misleading the people. He claimed that instead of participating in the debate, Congress leaders were wasting the time of the House. State irrigation minister Ram Pratap also hurled a jibe saying that those who did not work even an inch for canal construction have turned well-wishers of farmers. Amid uproar, both the Bills were passed through a voice vote following which the Speaker adjourned the House for the day.