Published 08:08 IST, September 18th 2020
Subramanian Swamy issues first response as Harsimrat quits Modi cabinet: 'Withdraw bill'
BJP leader & Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy asked the Central government to "withdraw the Bill" and "negotiate with allies (Akali Dal) for a consensus Bill."
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Union Minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the Union Cabinet to protest the two bills related to the agriculture passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday as well as another similar measure passed by the lower house of Parliament on Tuesday. BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subramanian Swamy asked the Central government to "withdraw the Bill" and "negotiate with allies for a consensus Bill."
'Negotiate will allies for a consensus'
Questioning his own party at the Centre, Dr Swamy asked on Twitter, "How can a Government despite being in majority in Lok Sabha yet forms a coalition called NDA, but does not consult its allies before introducing a Bill in Parliament on a subject concerning farmers?"
How can a Government despite being in majority in Lok Sabha yet forms a coalition called NDA, but does not consult its allies before introducing a Bill in Parliament on a subject concerning farmers? Withdraw the Bill and then negotiate with allies for a consensus Bill.
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) September 17, 2020
Harsimrat Kaur Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal voted against the bills. She was present in the House when the bills were being passed. Kaur submitted her resignation soon after party chief Sukhbir Badal announced in Lok Sabha that she would quit the Union Cabinet in protest against the three farm bills.
The bills passed on Thursday will replace the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance 2020 issued in June this year.
Reacting to Kaur's resignation, Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh tweeted, "Harsimrat Kaur's decision to quit Union Cabinet is another in the long chain of theatrics being enacted by Akali Dal which has still not quit the ruling coalition. It's motivated not by any concern for farmers but to save their own dwindling political fortunes. Too little too late."
PM Modi on the passage of agrarian reform bills
Meanwhile, Hailing the passage of three farm sector bills in Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday described these proposed legislations as historic and asserted that they will rid farmers and the farm sector of middlemen and other bottlenecks. These reforms will provide new opportunities to farmers to sell their produce and will lead to increased profits for them, he said.
लोकसभा में ऐतिहासिक कृषि सुधार विधेयकों का पारित होना देश के किसानों और कृषि क्षेत्र के लिए एक महत्वपूर्ण क्षण है। ये विधेयक सही मायने में किसानों को बिचौलियों और तमाम अवरोधों से मुक्त करेंगे। #JaiKisan
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 17, 2020
इस कृषि सुधार से किसानों को अपनी उपज बेचने के लिए नए-नए अवसर मिलेंगे, जिससे उनका मुनाफा बढ़ेगा। इससे हमारे कृषि क्षेत्र को जहां आधुनिक टेक्नोलॉजी का लाभ मिलेगा, वहीं अन्नदाता सशक्त होंगे। #JaiKisan
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 17, 2020
The three bills will now be tabled in Rajya Sabha and become laws after the Upper House also passes them. They will replace ordinances promulgated by the Union government.
08:08 IST, September 18th 2020