The Opposition parties on Monday hit out at the Government over the passage of the Bill to repeal farm laws in Parliament without discussion.
While Congress chief Rahul Gandhi questioned the move to push through the repeal of Farm Bill in the Parliament in just few minutes without any discussion, saying it indicated that the Government was “terrified”, TMC member in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien called it a shame that the bill was taken up and passed without debate being allowed. “Not even a fig leaf of democracy. Shameless”.
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said the farmer protests will continue. “This is a tribute to all 750 farmers who lost their lives during the agitation. The protest will continue as other issues including MSP are still pending.”
“We wanted to discuss MSP (issue), we wanted to discuss the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, we wanted to discuss the 700 farmers who died in this agitation and unfortunately that discussion has not been allowed,” Rahul Gandhi said.
“It is a reflection of the fact that this government is “terrified” of having these discussions and “wants to hide”, he told media shortly after the Farm Laws Repeal Bill was passed by both houses of parliament. The bill is likely to be signed off by the President by late evening Monday itself.
In the Rajya Sabha Congress leader in the house Mallikarjun Kharge said all parties are agreed on the bill and no one is opposed to it but required a discussion on the agony incurred by the farmers over last years.
The contentious laws were scrapped at the end of a year-long protest by farmers, who held out for complete cancellation despite the Government's offer of various other options.
“It took 700 farmer deaths for the Prime Minister to change his mind. The fact is that the Central Government could not face the strength of the Indian people represented by farmers in this case. The upcoming state elections must have also played on their mind,” Rahul added.
The Congress, which supported the farmers' demand all along, held protest in front of the Gandhi statue in the parliament House complex earlier carrying banners that read “We demand repeal of black farm laws.”
RJD member Manoj Jha expressed his complete unhappiness over the way the government repealed a law within a week of celebration of Constitution Day. “Now I lack words to condemn their routine murder of the need for a democratic nation. Unconstitutional, unlawful activities have been going on. As a Parliamentarian and as an educationist, it pains me a lot,” Jha said.
Earlier, TMC and Aam Aadmi Party skipped the opposition meeting called by the Congress ahead of the commencement of winter session of Parliament on Monday. The meeting called by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge was attended by 11 parties where it was deliberated upon as not to let the Government free over the miseries that led to the controversial farm bills before announced to repeal it.
