Stormy RS session ends on COVID fears, Oppn to continue farm bill stir

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die (without further notice on when the next session will place) on Wednesday (September 23), eight days ahead of the scheduled end of the monsoon session, amid concerns over the spread of COVID-19 among lawmakers.

This comes after 30 members of Parliament tested positive for the viral infection last week, according to a report by CNN-News18.

The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) also met on Saturday (September 19), at the behest of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, to take a decision on the issue. Most lawmakers, cutting across party lines, had agreed on ending the session this week.

The truncated monsoon session of the Parliament started on September 14 and was supposed to continue till October 1, but a steady increase in the number of MPs testing positive for the infection had prompted the Speaker to suggest cutting it short further.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said the House had to hold 18 sittings but had held only 10. He said the 10-day session was productive and as many as 25 bills were passed and six were introduced.

Earlier on Wednesday, the House passed key bills including three on labour reforms. The House also passed the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, and the FCRA Amendment Bill, among others.

However, the most significant proceeding in the entire monsoon session was when the controversial farm bills were passed on Sunday (September 20) amid strong from the Opposition.

The Opposition alleged that the proposed farm laws will give power in the hands of corporates and farmers will be deprived of a fair price for their produce.

Related news: Cameras off, microphones muted: What happened in RS amid ruckus

The proceedings in the Upper House had initially been peaceful but intensified when the Opposition demanded physical voting, which Deputy Chairman Harivansh Singh refused. The Opposition members then ran towards Singh and attempted to tear up the rule book. They also tried to snatch the Deputy Chairman’s mic. A voice vote took place amid slogan-shouting by MPs.

According to members from the Opposition, mics were cut off to nullify signs of dissent while passing the farm bills.

Following this, the leaders caused a ‘ruckus’ by throwing around papers, wrenching mics away, and “physically threatening” Deputy Chairman Harivansh Singh.

The members had also passed a no-confidence notice against Singh, which was dismissed by Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu.

The chaos in the Upper House led to the suspension of the eight opposition MPs over their “unruly behaviour” in the House.

The suspended members include Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien, Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh, Congress’ Rajeev Satav and CPI-M’s KK Ragesh.

Opposition members also boycotted the proceedings of both Houses after eight members were suspended following a ruckus in the House on Sunday over passage of the farm bills.

The suspension of the eight MPs and the passage of the farm bills amid strong dissent from the farmers and Opposition has resulted in protests by the Upper House members at the Parliament building.

The members took out a silent protest march on Wednesday in the Parliament complex against the contentious farm Bills. The protesting MPs carried placards with messages such as “Save Farmers, Save Workers, Save Democracy” during their march from the Mahatma Gandhi statue to the Ambedkar statue on the premises.

Related news: Derek O’Brien, 7 others suspended for ruckus in Rajya Sabha over farm bills

They also stood before Gandhi’s statue in a line. Members of the Congress, Trinamool Congress, CPI, CPI-M, DMK, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Samajwadi Party and the NCP participated in the protest.

Meanwhile, the Opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha are planning to meet at 2 pm on Wednesday to decide on a dharna, according to sources.

They have also written to President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him not to sign the contentious Bills because, they said, the proposed legislations were passed in the din without division of votes.

Rajya Sabha member and Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad would be meeting President Kovind at 5 PM to put forth their demands. He will also be speaking to the President on the suspension of the eight MPs.

Azad had earlier spelt out three demands — the government should bring a bill which ensures that private players do not procure food grains below a minimum support price (MSP) fixed by the government, the MSP should be based on the recommendations of the MS Swaminathan committee report, and the Food Corporation of India should ensure that crops are procured from farmers at the fixed MSP.