Parliament Winter Session: Farm Acts Repeal Bill passed in Lok Sabha without discussion

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Farm Acts Repeal Bill amid ruckus, with few Opposition parties demanding discussions on it. Speaker Om Birla then adjourned the House till 2 pm.

The House passed the bill with voice vote amid protests by the Congress and TMC members. Dola Sen (TMC) and Nadimul Haque (TMC) were in the well to protest the passage of the bill without debate.

The Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021 seeks to repeal the three farm legislations, Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance, Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020, which were passed last year, triggered months of protests across northern India.

As soon as Rajya Sabha met in the afternoon, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar introduced The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 shortly.

Interestingly, the bill says “only a small group of farmers are protesting” against the legislation while calling it the need of the hour to take along everyone for inclusive growth.

Before the motion was adopted for the passage the bill, Deputy Chairman Harivansh allowed Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to speak for two minutes.

Kharge was of the view that the government has taken back the three farm laws in view of the forthcoming elections in five states after reviewing the results of recent bypolls. He also mentioned about the death of over 700 farmers in more than a year during agitation against these laws.

When Kharge took more than the allocated time, the deputy chairman called Tomar to move the motion. Tomar moved the motion and said while moving the bill for passage that the three laws were brought for the benefit of farmers.

He regretted that the government could not convince the agitating farmers about the benefits of the laws. He also attacked the Congress for adopting "double standard" on the laws, as its own election manifesto talked about the need for reforms in the farm sector.

He said as both the government and the opposition parties are for repeal of the laws, so there was no need for any discussion on the farm repeal bill.

Earlier, as soon as the Parliament's winter session commenced on Monday, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 12.19 pm as a mark of respect for Oscar Fernandes, a sitting member of the house who passed away and the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon following sloganeering by the Opposition members.

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri has welcomed the Indian government's decision to repeal the three controversial farm laws, expressing hope that any subsequent action on reforming the agriculture sector will be informed" by the country's human rights commitments and taken through meaningful consultations with farmers, communities and unions.

“What was at stake with these laws was the stability of India's entire food system. Let's hope that subsequent actions on reforming Indian agriculture are informed by the country's human rights commitments and taken through meaningful consultations with farmers, communities and unions”, he said.

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