New Delhi: As the Rajya Sabha took up the much debated Agriculture Reform bill on Sunday (September 20), Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa termed it as "ill-conceived" and "ill-timed", and said that his party will not sign on "death warrant" of farmers."
Opposing the bill Bajwa said, "The Congress party opposes these ill-conceived and ill-timed Bills. Congress rejects these bills. We will not sign on this death warrant of farmers. Farmers in Punjab are protesting. They consider the Bills as an attack on them. Agriculture and markets are State subjects and these Bills are against the spirit of federal cooperative. We do not want APMC and MSP to be tinkered.''
Bajwa also slammed PM Modi and said that he did not come in Parliament to say that government will reduce the burden on farmers` expenditure and when their oldest ally SAD`s Harsimrat Kaur resigned from the Union Cabinet, he made the statement that we are misleading farmers.
Not only Congress but other parties including TMC, DMK, Samajwadi Party also opposed the bill. DMK MP TKS Elangovan said, ''Farmers who contribute at least 20% to the total GDP of the country, will be made slaves by these Bill. It will kill the farmers and make them a commodity.''
Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav in Rajya Sabha accused BJP for rushing through the bill.
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar moved two agriculture Bills in the Rajya Sabha.These Bills are -- Farmers` and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. Both the bills were passed in Lok Sabha.
