Parliament passes Bill to repeal farm laws without debate; Oppn fumes

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha passed the bill to repeal the three farm laws on the first day of the 25-day winter session of Parliament — without any discussion.

This is the fastest repeal of any law by the government in recent years, driven by protests by the farming community and the Opposition.

Earlier in the day, Lok Sabha passed The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 within minutes of its introduction in the lower House. 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 of 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 by-polls.

He also mentioned the death of over 700 farmers in more than a year during the agitation against these laws.

When Kharge took more than the allocated time, the deputy chairman called Tomar to move the motion.

Also read: Modi skips all-party meeting ahead of Winter Session

Tomar moved the motion and said while moving the bill for passage that the three laws were brought for the benefit of farmers.

He regretted that the government could not convince the agitating farmers about the benefits of the laws.

He also attacked the Congress for adopting “double standard” on the laws, as its own election manifesto talked about the need for reforms in the farm sector.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed a large heart by announcing the repeal of the laws on Guru Nanak Janyanti.

He said as both the government and the Opposition parties are for repeal of the laws, so there was no need for any discussion on the farm repeal bill.

The House passed the bill with voice vote amid protests by the Congress and TMC members.

Dola Sen (TMC) and Nadimul Haque (TMC) were in the well to protest the passage of the bill without debate. After the passage of the bill, the House was adjourned for half an hour.

Around 30 legislative bills and one finance bill are expected to be tabled in the Parliament during the winter session. Some of them include the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021, and the Electricity (Amendment) Bill.