Parliament winter session: Lok Sabha to take up ‘Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021’ today

The Winter Session of Parliament is set to begin on a stormy note on Monday, with the government listing a bill to repeal the three contentious farm laws on the first day itself even as the Opposition plans to push for a law on minimum support price on agriculture produce.

On the first day of the winter session of Parliament, the Government of India is likely to move the three ‘Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021’ in the Rajya Sabha after it is passed by the Lok Sabha.

The three ‘Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021’was circulated among Rajya Sabha members on Friday. Several farmer unions have pressed for a law on minimum support price (MSP).

Various opposition parties on Sunday raised the issue of legal backing for MSP at an all-party meet called by the government ahead of the session.

The opposition also raised the issue of compensation for family members of farmers who had died during the year-long protests against the laws.

The Congress has demanded a condolence resolution for the farmers who died during the protests.

At the meeting, opposition leaders also demanded discussion on the Pegasus snooping row, fuel prices and unemployment in the session.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not present at the all-party meeting convened by the government, Defence Minister and Deputy Leader of Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh sought cooperation from all parties for productive and smooth functioning of the House.

In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the repealing of the three Central farm laws on the day of Guru Nanak Jayanti.

“We have decided to repeal all three farm laws, will begin the procedure at the Parliament session that begins this month. I urge farmers to return home to their families and let’s start afresh,” PM Modi said.

The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 seeks to repeal the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance, Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Farmers have been protesting against the three central farm laws on various borders of Delhi since November 26, 2020.

Besides the repeal bill, the government has listed 25 draft legislations for the session, including one to ban all but a few private cryptocurrencies while allowing an official digital currency by the RBI.

A Joint Committee of Parliament report on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 will also be tabled in the two Houses during the session.

The bill was brought in Parliament in 2019 and was referred to the committee for further scrutiny on demand of opposition members.

The main objection of opposition members was granting “unbridled powers” to the central government to exempt any of its probe agencies, including the ED and the CBI, from the purview of the entire Act.

According to the government’s legislative business list, three bills have also been listed to replace as many ordinances.

These are Narcotics Drug and Psychotic Substances Bill to amend an act of the same name, Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill and Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill.

The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill and the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill propose to extend the tenure of directors of the CVC and the CBI.

There is also a politically significant bill specifically for poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, to amend the SC and ST list of the state.

Similarly, there is another bill to amend the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes list of Tripura.

Then, there is the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021, to amend the salaries act of judges of the higher judiciary.

The session beginning Monday will conclude on December 23.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)

Published on: Monday, November 29, 2021, 07:43 AM IST