Parliament repeals farm laws amid ruckus by Opposition

New Delhi, Nov 29: The Parliament on Monday passed the three contentious farm laws, against which farmers have been protesting for over a year, amid ruckus by Opposition.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar introduced The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 shortly after noon on the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament.

The opposition sought a debate on the bill and came to the well of the House raising slogans and banners. Reportedly, the government is not interested in having any discussion on the Farm Laws Repeal Bill in Parliament.

Speaker Om Birla said that he was ready for the debate provided there is order in the House.

As the opposition continued the protests, the Speaker announced the passage of the bill after voice vote.

As soon as Rajya Sabha met in the afternoon, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar introduced The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 shortly.

Before the motion was adopted for the passage the bill, Deputy Chairman Harivansh allowed Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to speak for two minutes.

Kharge was of the view that the government has taken back the three farm laws in view of the forthcoming elections in five states after reviewing the results of recent bypolls.

He also mentioned about the death of over 700 farmers in more than a year during agitation against these laws. When Kharge took more than the allocated time, the deputy chairman called Tomar to move the motion and eventually passed in Rajya Sabha.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced on November 19 that the three farm legislations will be repealed. The three laws are Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.

The repeal of these three legislations has been one of the key demands of around 40 farmer unions protesting against these reforms for nearly a year now at various Delhi border points These laws, which are under suspension following a Supreme Court order in January this year, had triggered widespread protests by thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, at Delhi borders. The protest, which started in November 2020, is still continuing.

On November 21, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) -- the joint body of farmer unions leading the current protests -- had written to the prime minister to immediately resume talks on the farmers' six demands, including legal guarantee for procurement of crops at MSP.

The other demands were sacking and arrest of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, withdrawal of cases against farmers and building of a memorial for those who lost their lives during the agitation.

They also sought removal of penal provisions on farmers in the 'Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act 2021' and withdrawal of the draft 'Electricity Amendments Bill, 2020/2021' proposed by the government.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act is aimed at giving freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside the mandis.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act is to provide cultivators the right to enter into a contract with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act was implemented to remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onion, and potatoes from the list of essential commodities and also do away with the imposition of stock holding limits on such items, except under 'extraordinary circumstances'.