Parliament nod to repeal of 3 farm laws bill

New Delhi: A PARLIAMENT on Monday passed the bill to repeal the three contentious agricultural laws at the centre of protests by farmers for over a year with the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha giving their approval in quick succession amid an uproar on the first day of the Winter session without any discussion as demanded by the opposition.

Though the repeal bill was passed by voice vote within minutes of its introduction in both the Houses, Opposition members continued their protest demanding a discussion on farmers' issues, including legal sanctity to Minimum Support Price(MSP) of crops and compensation to families of farmers who died during the year-long agitation. The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 now awaits the assent of President Ram Nath Kovind for the formal withdrawal of the three laws against which farmers have been protesting at Delhi borders.

Terming the repeal of the farm laws a victory of the protesters, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) called an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the future course of action as leaders from Punjab unions asked the Centre to hold discussions and give an assurance on other demands, including a legal guarantee on MSP, in Parliament on November 30.

Introducing the repeal bill in the two Houses, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept his word as the government brought the bill on the very first day of the Winter session of Parliament. Stating that the prime minister has shown a big heart by announcing the repeal of the laws on Guru Nanak Jayanti on November 19, Tomar sought the support of the members in its passage without a discussion, noting that both the government and the opposition are in favour of repealing the three laws.

He also attacked the Congress for adopting a "double standard" on the laws, as its own election manifesto talked about the need for reforms in the farm sector. Reacting to the accusation by the Opposition of not allowing a discussion, Tomar told reporters there was unanimity on the issue as both the government and opposition parties wanted to nullify the legislations. Outside Parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that repealing of the three farm laws without a debate shows that the government is "terrified" of having a discussion and knows that it has done something wrong.

Tomar, however, suggested that a discussion on the bill could have started in the Lok Sabha but protests by opposition parties ruled it out. Speaker Om Birla repeatedly told opposition members that he was ready for initiating a discussion if they went back to their seats, Tomar noted.

The SKM, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions, rued the absence of a discussion in Parliament. "This is a victory for us and a historic day. We want withdrawal of cases against farmers. We want a committee to be formed on the legal guarantee of MSP for crops. The Centre has time till tomorrow (Tuesday) to reply to our demands. We have called an emergency meeting of SKM on Wednesday to discuss future course of action," farmer leaders told a press conference the air at the protest sites at three Delhi border points--Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri--- was filled with chants and slogans as farmers danced to the tunes of Bhangra and Punjabi songs.

At Singhu border, farmers also showered flower petals at each other to celebrate the "victory of the movement". Later, the SKM in a statement said that the repeal of farm laws is the first major victory of the farmers' movement while other important demands are still pending. "History has been made today in India when the anti-farmer central farm laws got repealed. However, the development was marred by the fact that no debate was allowed on the repeal Bill in Parliament."