Coming along expected lines, the Rajya Sabha, which started on Thursday after the recess, witnessed uproarious scenes over the controversial land Bill and suicide by a farmer during a rally in the Capital. Opposition members asked the Government not to insist on convening a Joint Session of Parliament if the Bill fell through in the Upper House where the ruling coalition does not enjoy a majority. They also demanded waiver of crop loans and a substantial hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of farm crops, saying the prime reason of distress and suicides was the recent unseasonal rains and hailstorms which had damaged crops. The Opposition also demanded a CBI probe into the suicide by a farmer during the AAP rally on Wednesday.
When the House resumed for the day, Opposition members created a ruckus after the Government sought to give reasons for re-promulgating the Ordinance on land acquisition, with Trinamool Congress member Nadeem-ul-Haq even tearing a copy of the agenda paper and throwing it into the Well. Congress members too jumped into the Well prompting Chairman Hamid Ansari to adjourn the House twice.
The Opposition demanded a statement from the Prime Minister after a debate while the Government said it was ready for discussion and the Home Minister will give a reply. The debate earlier got entangled in procedural issues and it was initiated only after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley questioned the seriousness of the members for the discussion when they were attempting to postpone the debate further till Monday. “If this is the seriousness, then the entire country would mock at us,” Jaitley added.
In the inconclusive debate that took almost three hours, leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad initiated the discussion and said the land Bill of the UPA should be restored and the NDA Government should not insist on calling for a Joint Parliamentary Session in case the Bill does not get cleared in the Upper House. Regarding the farmer’s suicide, Azad alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the police were “equally responsible” for the farmer taking the extreme step and asked the Government to take adequate action in this regard.
The discussion will continue on Friday since the Zero Hour has been suspended. The reply from the Government is expected to be on Monday as Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh will be leaving for Bihar on Friday to assess the damage in the Bihar storm which has claimed more than 40 lives.
The ruckus took place soon after Rural Development Minister Birender Singh left the House and immediately MoS Rural Development Sudarshan Bhagat laid a statement explaining the circumstances that necessitated immediate legislation by promulgation of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015.
Former Agriculture Minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar took the Government to task over a letter written to Opposition leaders by Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, the Government’s pointsman on the land Bill, saying it reflected “arrogance”. Claiming that the letter could have been sent at the behest of the Prime Minister, he said “this is not a language of negotiation. It is the responsibility of all of us to help the poor and the needy”.
While JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav asked the Government to focus on the welfare of farmers, instead of acquiring “almost one-fourth of the nation’s land” through the land Bill, SP member Ram Gopal Yadav said as many as 59 farmers have committed suicide in Uttar Pradesh due to crop damage following unseasonal rains and hailstorms. He expressed concern that insurance companies were not taking adequate steps to help affected farmers and asked the Government to take action in this regard.
Mayawati (BSP) said the incident of farmer suicide required proper investigation and sought a CBI probe to ascertain the reasons behind the farmer’s death. Defending the land Bill, Vinay Katiyar (BJP) said the Government was “sensitive” towards the farmers cause and there should not be any “politics” on the issue of farmers’ suicide. Birender Singh demanded that the Government should also honour the farmers with Padma awards to encourage them in this field.