Bhubaneswar: The Rajya Sabha Sunday passed two contentious farm bills by voice vote amid vehement protests by opposition parties including BJD.
BJD member Amar Patnaik opposing the bills in the Upper House said the bills are designed in such a manner that there are no provisions of security for the small and marginal farmers and sharecroppers. He asked the government to send the bills to the Select Committee for finetuning.
Saturday, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has nine members in the Upper House, remained tightlipped on the issue. A senior BJD MP said that party has instructed all its members to remain present in the Rajya Sabha Sunday.
Meanwhile, the bills have been facing opposition from strong opposition from various farmers’ bodies as well as partners of the ruling coalition.
Notably, the farm bills that were passed in the Lok Sabha September 17 have been moved in the Rajya Sabha by Union minister of agriculture and farmer welfare Narendra Singh Tomar.
The farm bills contain Farmers’ and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020. All these will become laws after getting cleared by Rajya Sabha.
PNN