Congress, other opposition parties to boycott monsoon session over farm bills, suspension of members

Congress and other opposition parties to boycott Monsoon Session over farm bills, suspension of members.

Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh issued a statement on Tuesday saying that his party along with other like-minded opposition parties will boycott the Parliament.

Parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, amid the coronavirus pandemic, in New Delhi. (PTI)

The senior leader pointed out several reasons for their decision to boycott the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament which is being held under extraordinary circumstances due to Covid-19.

Congress said that the suspension of the members of Parliament, not letting the Leader of Opposition air his views, and not referring the bills to a standing or select committee as the main reasons behind the boycotting of the session.

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The senior leader speaking on behalf of his party also alleged that the recent bills introduced by the government have been not been passed but were rather ‘bulldozed’. He said that the bills should have referred to select panels for further review.

On Sunday during the Rajya Sabha proceedings, several MPs had collected near the Speaker’s seat and raised slogans voicing their opposition towards the passage of two bills intended to reform the agricultural sector. Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O’Brien and his colleague Dola Sen; Aam Admi Party’s Sanjay Singh; Congress’s Rajeev Satav, Syed Nasir Hussain and Ripun Borah; and KK Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem of the CPI(M) are the MPs who are facing a weeklong suspension from the Parliament proceedings.

Opposition party members have demanded that the suspension of the MPs be revoked.