New Delhi:On the first day of Monsoon session of Parliament, Congress party strongly opposed the two ordinances on Agriculture, introduced by the Center, alleging that the bills will lead to the exploitation of farmers by big companies.
Though Congress MP Rahul Gandhi did not attend the session while being abroad, he made a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his tweet, by calling these ordinances his another 'anti-farmer conspiracy'.
He tweeted, on Monday, 'Farmers are the ones who buy and sell their produce in retail at wholesale prices. The three 'black' ordinances of Modi Government are a fatal attack on peasants and agricultural labourers, so that neither they get MSP nor their rights and they sell their lands to corporates. Another anti-farmer conspiracy of Modi ji."
Gandhi, who has gone abroad along with his mother, Sonia Gandhi for her medical checkup, took a jibe at PM Modi through social media. However, other members of Congress party also raised their objections strongly, over these bills.
Read:|Haryana farmers protest against three agriculture ordinances
"We oppose the introduction of the ordinances and bills related to farmers, agriculture and the essential commodities. This is an act which will give freedom to corporate to brutally exploit the farmers and take away the protection that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) gives them and the various State Mandi Acts give them," said Gaurav Gogoi, while addressing media outside the Parliament.
Rahul calls govt's Agri ordinances 'another anti-farmer conspiracy' of PM Modi
During the session, Center introduced two bills including 'The Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020' and 'The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill' which will replace the ordinances promulgated by the government earlier.
The opposition parties slammed the Government for not consulting to the states before introducing the bills. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhary said that it has been clearly stated in constitutional provisions agriculture comes under the domain of states.
He further added, "Through this bill, the Center will nullify Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) law enacted by various state governments. This is a case of legislative overreach and a direct attack on the federal structure of the Constitution."
Read:|Will Modi govt's three rushed ordinances benefit farmers?
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor marked the same point in Parliament while asserting that the bill violates the basic tenets of federalism, saying, "It is beyond the legislative competence of this house to enact the law on agriculture, which is a domain of state governments."
While defending the bill, the Union Minister of Agriculture said that almost 86 per cent of farmers have less than 2 hectares of agricultural land and they are often unable to get benefit from MSP. Hence, the Center will help the farmers to get a remunerative price for their produce as well as private investments and technology.
