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Farmers’ issues, Adani row continue to rock Parliament
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar disallowed motions seeking setting aside of the business of the day to discuss the farmers’ issue
The Opposition Congress and some other INDIA bloc members on Wednesday protested against the government over farmers’ issue and the Adani indictment matter, hampering proceedings in Parliament, which saw its first week of the ongoing winter session washout.
In the Rajya Sabha, members of the Congress and some other Opposition parties staged a walkout in protest against the government’s alleged anti-farmer policies and for not fulfilling the promise of increasing the minimum support price (MSP) for various crops.
Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar disallowed motions seeking setting aside of the business of the day to discuss the farmers’ issue, saying the “interest of farmers is not served by sloganeering and (shedding) crocodile tears”.
“You are only politicising it. You don’t want a solution. Kisan (farmers) is your last priority,” he told the Opposition members, who resorted to sloganeering.
Initially, he did not allow the opposition MPs to raise the issue, but later permitted Congress leader Pramod Tiwari to make a brief mention. After Tiwari said the government has not kept its promise of raising MSP leading to fresh agitation by the farmers, Dhankhar did not allow others to speak on the matter.
Soon after, Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), besides some members of the RJD, staged a walkout.
Earlier, Dhankhar rejected five notices under rule 267 to discuss farmers’ issues, the recent cyclone in Tamil Nadu, allegations of corruption and wrongdoing against Adani group and violence in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh.
Congress lawmaker Randeep Surjewala in his notice under rule 267 said the agrarian distress in the country, which coupled with rural and agricultural debt, is causing an alarming situation in the rural hinterland of India.
“Even public representatives and those holding his constitutional posts have publicly expressed concerns about rural and agrarian distress. This requires urgent discussion in the House by suspending all other business,” he added in his notice.
Farmers from across western Uttar Pradesh began a march to Delhi on December 2 after gathering at the Delhi-Noida border over the past few days.
The demand came a day after Dhankhar at an event in Mumbai expressed concern over the farmers’ issue and urged the agriculture minister to hold talks with protesting farmers.
In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla asked lawmakers not to obstruct the main entrance or the Makar Dwar of Parliament after INDIA bloc members held a protest on the steps of that gate demanding a JPC probe into the Adani issue.
“I want to repeat that many MPs have lodged complaints about the obstructions in the main gate. I want to urge all political parties not to obstruct the gate when the MPs are coming to Parliament,” Birla said.
Earlier in the day, Congress lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi moved an adjournment motion notice in the lower house urging for a discussion on the Adani matter.
The notice called for an urgent discussion on the “silence” of the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in the face of serious allegations against the Adani Group, which has been charged with bribery and securities fraud by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Later, INDIA bloc MPs staged protest at the Makar Dwar and raised several slogans and banners depicting their demand for a JPC probe into Adani indictment.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), meanwhile, criticised the INDIA bloc, and particularly the Congress, alleging that the opposition’s actions demonstrated a clear disregard for the Constitution, highlighting their “fragmented approach” to critical issues.
It came after following the Rajya Sabha saw members filing 42 notices under Rule 267, seeking discussion over urgent matters. A Rajya Sabha member noted that each of the 42 notices were related to a different issue, allegedly indicating disorganisation within the opposition.
