Congress MP Hooda slams BJP & JJP for not opposing farm bills, cites Punjab's united stand

In the wake of Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal's resignation, Congress MP Deepender Hooda on Thursday alleged that the Haryana government has betrayed the farmers. He questioned BJP and JJP on why they couldn't join hands with the opposition to oppose the Centre's bills which are reportedly harmful to the farmers. To buttress his point, he cited that AAP, Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress- the three main political parties in Punjab had opposed the purported anti-farmer legislation on the floor of the Parliament. Hooda accused BJP and JJP of ignoring the interest of farmers for the greed of power. 

Read: Enactment Of Farm Bills Will Lead To 'unrest' In Punjab: Amarinder

What are the three agriculture-related bills? 

The Lok Sabha has passed The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. These bills were introduced by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to replace three ordinances promulgated on June 5. As per the Centre, The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was amended to ensure that the farmers get a good price on many commodities.

Items such as food grains, oil, dal, pulses, potato have been removed from the purview of this Act. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 aims at freeing the farmers from the constraints of the state Agriculture Produce Market Committees whereby they would be able to sell their produce anywhere. On the other hand, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 protects and empowers farmers to engage with processors, wholesalers, large retailers, exporters for farm services. The opposition has alleged that the bills will benefit only big farmers and corporates. 

Read: SAD Ready To Make Any Sacrifice For Farmers, Will Decide On Continuing In NDA Later: Sukhbir

Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigns

In her resignation letter, Harsimrat Kaur Badal maintained that it was impossible for her to perform her duties as a Union Minister as the SAD could not go against the interest of the farmers. She lamented that the Centre did not take farmers on board despite her best attempt to persuade the Union Cabinet in this regard. According to her, the Union government had given the impression that her concerns would be addressed while legislating on the issue in Parliament. 

The SAD wanted the bills concerning the marketing of farmers' produce to be referred to a Select Committee. Badal stated that her decision to resign was guided by the tradition of her party to always defend the national interest. At the same time, she listed the various achievements of the NDA government for the Sikh community and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving her a chance to work under his "visionary leadership". So far, the SAD has not pulled out of the NDA.

Read: SAD, Congress Acted Against Farmers' Bills Only After AAP Raised Issue: Bhagwant Mann