All the parties asked the government to give a legal guarantee on the MSP for farmers. Trinamool Congress (TMC) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) asked the government not to disinvest the profit-making public sector companies.
With the government all set to table the Bill to repeal the farm laws on Monday on the first day of the Parliament’s winter session, Opposition, as well as parties friendly to the ruling BJP, sought statutory support for the Minimum Support Price (MSP), a demand the agitating farmers have raised.
In the all-party meeting convened by the government on the eve of the winter session, several parties have renewed their demands for the early passage of the women’s reservation bill.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend the meeting. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi claimed it was Modi who started the “tradition” of the prime minister attending the all-party meeting. “This time, he could not,” Joshi said.
To be sure, former prime minister Manmohan Singh used to attend all-party meetings ahead of parliament sessions.
While Left parties raised the issue of the prime minister not being present in the house, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) asked the government not to disinvest the profit-making public sector companies. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged the party leaders to ensure the smooth functioning of the house so that the members can have healthy debates.
With many floor leaders pointing out that bills are not being discussed at the standing committee, Singh said that the government is ready to refer bills to the parliamentary committees for detailed discussion.
Sources said the leaders then asked the defence minister to see that such decisions are taken in the chamber only instead of referring it to the house, in which the ruling BJP has a brute majority.
Apart from Singh and Joshi, Leader of the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal, V Muraleedharn and Arjun Ram Meghwal were present from the government’s side.
“Thirty-one parties participated in the all-party meeting today. Forty-two leaders from various parties participated in a constructive discussion. The government is ready for any discussions permitted by the chairman & the speaker, without disruptions,” Joshi told reporters after the meeting.
In what may make things difficult for the government during the discussions on the farm laws repeal, all the parties, including Congress, TMC, DMK, YSRCP, BJD, TRS, AAP, BSP and Left parties, asked government to give a legal guarantee on the MSP for farmers.
Mallikarjun Kharge of the main opposition Congress pointed out that the farmers’ issues would need detailed discussion as it is very important. Kharge mentioned many issues including, inflation, fuel price hike, farmers’ issues, Lakhimpur Kheri violence, coal shortage, violence in Tripura and Covid-19.
According to sources, Kharge reminded the BJP leaders how the party had behaved while it was in the opposition. He said if the government cooperates with the opposition parties to raise the issues they want, the treasury benches would get their backing for the legislative business.
Interestingly, several parties including TMC, BJD, YSRCP, Left parties and BSP raised the issue of long-pending women’s reservation bill. The leaders of these parties asked the government to expedite the process and pass the bill while Samajwadi Party and RJD maintained that the reservation for women should be at the level of political parties.
CPI(M)’s John Brittas, who spoke at the meeting, said that the “centrality” of the Parliament has to be regained. Criticising the government, the Rajya Sabha MP said the treasury benches should learn to listen to the opposition. According to sources, he said that the government had rejected the opposition’s demand for a debate on Pegasus spyware and the farm bills in the monsoon session saying they were “irrelevant”. On Pegasus, the Supreme Court has ruled underlining the importance of sharing the details and the prime minister himself addressed the nation withdrawing the contentious farm laws. “If the prime minister and the home minister had spared a few minutes in addressing the concerns of the members, the last session would not have ended in fiasco,” he is learnt to have said.
Pointing out that the whole nation is watching Parliament, the CPI(M) MP said CJI N V Ramana had lamented about the “sorry state of affairs of lawmaking” and parliamentary debate in the country saying that there was a “lot of ambiguity in laws” which triggered litigation causing inconvenience to the citizens, courts and stakeholders.
Brittas, who belonged to the media originally, urged the government not to ignore the media and that the restrictions on them have to be eased.
TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay said that the Centre has been reluctant in discussing the economic policy in Parliament. National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah hoped that the government would reinstate article 370 (special status) for Jammu and Kashmir, as it has repealed the farm laws now. BJP’s ally in the NDA, Ramdas Athawale demanded that the MPLADS fund should be raised to Rs 20 crore and that the government should make provisions for quota for the SC/STs in the private sector.
