Owaisi slams Centre for repealing Farm Bills sans debate: 'Worse even by BJP's record'

Aghast at the Farm laws being repealed from Parliament without debate, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday, pointed that eight bills which had been repealed during PM Modi's tenure have had atleast one hour of debate. Owaisi opined that if elected MPs are left unheard, what choice do people have apart from protesting. The three Farm Laws were officially repealed by both Houses sans debate amid Opposition sloganeering.

Owaisi: 'What choice do MPs have?'

Parliament repeal Farm Laws

The first day of Winter session in Parliament saw a showdown as all three Farm laws were repealed by both houses without debate. Amid massive Opposition sloganeering, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the environment was not conducive for debates. Hence the Bills were passed via voice vote. In the Rajya Sabha, LoP Mallikarjun Kharge was allowed to speak briefly before the bills were passed with majority votes via voice vote. The bill will now be sent to the President for approval.

After the adjournment of both Houses, ex-Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said he was certain that the laws would be repealed.  "We had mentioned earlier that the farm laws would have to be withdrawn. We understood that 3-4 large crony capitalists cannot stand against the might of Indian farmers The issue is how the bills were repealed," he said.

"They (government) withdrew the bills without any discussion or debate. It shows that the government is terrified of discussion. We wanted to discuss the forces behind the bills. We wanted to discuss MSP, the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, and the death of farmers during protests," he added.

Farm Laws Repealed

After a year-long protest by farmers, PM Modi announced that the Centre will officially repeal the three farm laws in the upcoming Winter session of Parliament. The farm laws to be repealed are Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. Inspite of PM's assurance, farmers have refused to stop their sit-in protests urging  Centre to holds talks with them over Minimum Support Price (MSP), the death of farmers during the protest and the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 aimed at freeing the farmers from the constraints of the state Agriculture Produce Market Committees whereby they would be able to sell their produce anywhere. Meanwhile, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 protected and empowered farmers to engage with processors, wholesalers, large retailers, exporters for farm services. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 specified that the supply of foodstuffs including cereals, pulses, potatoes, edible oilseeds, and oils shall be regulated only under exceptional circumstances.