Kejriwal asks non-BJP members to unite against farm bills in Rajya Sabha

The Lok Sabha, where the BJP and its allies enjoy a brute majority, passed two of these bills --- The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 --- through a voice vote on Thursday

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday appealed to members of all opposition parties to vote against three controversial agriculture bills in the Rajya Sabha.

Farmers from Punjab and Haryana, some wearing black bands as a mark of protest against the three agriculture ordinances being detained at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on September 16, 2020.(Representational Photo/HT)

“The BJP does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha. It is my appeal to members of all non-BJP parties to join hands against the bills. This is what the farmers of the nation wants,” said Kejriwal, the national convener of the Aam Aami Party (AAP) , which has three members in the Upper House.

The bills were tabled in the Rajya Sabha for discussion and passage on Sunday.

The Lok Sabha, where the BJP and its allies enjoy a brute majority, passed two of these bills --- The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 --- through a voice vote on Thursday. It has earlier passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill.

The AAP, which has one MP in the Lok Sabha, voted against the three bills.

The main opposition Congress and a clutch of smaller parties are opposed to the reforms. A key opposition to the bills came on Thursday from BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal, whose minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the Union Cabinet over efforts to unshackle the farm sector.

India’s agricultural trade still requires licenced traders who must operate out of notified markets allotted to them. The bills aim to sidestep this system, called agricultural produce market committees (APMC), free up market restrictions, enable farmers and agribusinesses to engage more confidently under a new contract farming law and help to create modern supply chains. Critics argue the new system will lack adequate oversight in its current form.