The opposition will boycott the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha till three key demands as well as a “request” of revoking of the suspension of eight members are met, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad declared in the upper house .
The suspended members continued their sit-in on the lawns of the parliament complex till about 11:30 AM after spending the night there in protest. They were suspended over Sunday’s unprecedented chaos and “unruly behaviour” in the Rajya Sabha when two controversial farm bills were passed. The Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman is at the heart of opposition protests; their no-confidence motion against him was rejected yesterday by Chairman Venkaiah Naidu.
A number of opposition parties led by the Congress staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha today, demanding that the suspension of eight members be revoked. The Congress was the first to walkout from the house along with members of the Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress and Left parties. Despite the opposition boycott, the Rajya Sabha proceeded with the debate on the third farm bill, chaired by the Deputy Chairman.
Mr Azad, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, spelt out three demands centred on ensuring that the minimum support price (MSP) is not weakened, and their “request” of revoking the suspension of the eight members. He demanded that the government brings a bill which should ensure private players don’t procure food grains below the MSP fixed by the government. The opposition also demanded for the MSP to be based on the recommendations of the MS Swaminathan committee report. Thirdly, the opposition demanded that the government or the Food Corporation Of India ensure that crops are procured from the farmers at the fixed minimum support price.
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh went to the protesting members with tea and served it in cups this morning on the lawns of the parliament complex. The suspended members rebuffed his “tea diplomacy”, calling him “anti-farmer”.
