If Shashi Tharoor is anti-national, we all are too: Ghulam Nabi Azad

New Delhi, Feb 03: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday asked the government to withdraw the three contentious farm bills without making it a prestige issue. Declaring that disrespect to the national flag cannot be tolerated, he also condemned the violence at Red Fort during the farmers' tractor rally on Republic Day.

Participating in the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in the Rajya Sabha, Azad suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself should make the announcement on repeal of the bills.

During this time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House.

Azad also made a case for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and holding assembly elections, saying that people of the area were not happy and development work had come to halt. In 2019, the erstwhile state was bifurcated into the union territories of Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.

Earlier, five hours were added to the discussion on the president's address to also allow the raising of issues related to farm bills. The new farm laws have led to protests at border points of the national capital and several parts of the country.

"I urge the government to withdraw these three bills," he said, and added that the government should set up a committee to find out the whereabouts of people "who have gone missing" during the farmers' protest. The senior Congress leader cited several examples, including one during his own party's rule in 1988, of the government giving in to the demands of farmers.

Referring to the violence that broke out in Delhi during farmers tractor rally on January 26, the Congress leader said the entire opposition condemns the incident as "it is against democracy".