Enforced & Repealed: No Debate, No Discussion

The Farm Laws Repeal bill was tabled at 12:06 pm and passed by 12:10 pm amid opposition demands for a discussion.

A bill to repeal the three controversial farm laws was passed on Monday in both houses of the Parliament on the very first day of the winter session.

Passed and repealed, without discussion

The Farm Laws Repeal bill was passed in Lok Sabha within four minutes – it was tabled at 12:06 pm and passed by 12:10 pm amid opposition demands for a discussion. The government plans to get it signed by the President by tonight, sources said, NDTV reported.

Though there was a short discussion held in the Rajya Sabha, the demands for discussion in Lok Sabha were entirely ignored. Opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha objected to the lack of discussion, pointing out that a discussion has taken place on the five or six occasions when a law was scrapped.

Social media users were outraged and reminded of the similar fashion in which these laws were passed last year.

The two controversial farm Bills that divided the polity and led NDA partner SAD to quit the Narendra Modi government were passed by a in the Rajya Sabha in September 2020, amid a major ruckus by the Opposition members who trooped into the Well of the House, shouted slogans and tore the rule book. Despite the strong protest from the opposition, the two bills were passed by voice vote, without any discussion.

 

TMC MP Derek O’Brien attempts to tear the rule book as ruckus erupts in the Rajya Sabha over agriculture related bills, during the monsoon session of parliament in 2020.

 

The long protest

For two months after the passage of bills, farmers from Punjab and Haryana started protesting within their states against the three laws. However, the protests were ignored by the central government.

Farmer unions, other then asking for repeal of the farm laws, continued with the demand for guaranteed minimum support prices (MSPs)reminding both state and union governments of the aim of doubling farmers’ income by 2022; and the 2004 MS Swaminathan headed National Commission on Farmers reports.

After two months of protests, farmer unions—mainly from Punjab and Haryana—began a movement named Dili Chalo (Let’s go to Delhi), in which tens of thousands of farming union members marched towards the nation’s capital. The Indian government ordered the police and law enforcement of various states to attack the protesters using water cannons, batons, and tear gas to prevent the farmer unions from entering into Haryana first and then Delhi. After building blockades and hammering nails on streets of their travel, when the government could not stop them from moving, it allowed them to protest at the Delhi borders.

 

Farmers faced water cannons and broke police barriers as they pushed towards towards Delhi.

 

The three laws were described as “anti-farmer laws” or “black laws” by many farmer unions and opposition leaders, who stressed that the laws will leave farmers at the “mercy of corporates”.

The farmers had also demanded the creation of an Minimum Support Price (MSP) bill, to ensure that corporates cannot control the prices.

Since the protests began in November 2020 around Delhi borders, over 700 farmers have died on the protest sites.

The Tikait factor

Rakesh Tikait’s organization BKU joined the 2020–2021 Indian farmers’ protest in November 2020 on UP-Delhi Ghazipur border.

After violence broke out in the National Capital on 26 January (Republic Day), Delhi Police filed an FIR against Rakesh Tikait and a few other farmer leaders for their role in inciting violence on Republic Day and breach of the NOC issued by Delhi Police.

Section 144 (no assembly) was imposed and there was heavy police deployment at the protest site. Being demoralised by these developments and plagued by power cuts and disruptions in water supply since Wednesday (27th January), thousands of farmers set off for their home on their tractors. They came to terms with the fact that the protest site would soon be cleared out.

Rakesh Tikait and other leaders declared that no one was going to surrender and the movement would not be called off. Rakesh Tikait said that he will rather prefer dying by suicide than to give in. At this juncture, while speaking on national television, he broke in tears.

 

Rakesh Tikait crying during media interaction reinvigorated the protests against farm laws.

 

And Lo! Thousands of farmers from Western UP began marching towards the Ghazipur border to wipe their leader’s tears and honor the son of Baba Tikait, an influential peasant leader who led many farmers’ agitation in late 90s and early 2000s. Rakesh Tikait rejuvenated the farmers protest that many considered over on the eve of Republic day.

The Mahapanchayats and West Bengal Elections

After the Tikait incident, it was impossible for the government to throttle the protest. International support started pouring in for farmers, as well as from many Punjabi and Haryanvi celebrities.

Mahapanchayats organised in Western UP and Haryana saw attendance of thousands of farmers. The BJP leaders started facing heat on their visit to their constituencies. Farmers protested wherever the BJP leaders went, for inaugurations or meetings.

The protesting farmers also campaigned against the BJP in West Bengal. The farmers’ unions organised several Mahapanchayats in the Eastern state. Rakesh Tikait, leading the charge, even echoed the ‘Khela Hobe’ slogan of Mamata Banerjee, the main contender to the BJP. In the end, the BJP lost to Mamata Banerjee’s TMC. Though the role of farmers’ Mahapanchayats could not be considered significant in WB election, it sent a clear message to the Prime Minister and his party that the farmers agitation could turn out to be a nightmare in UP Elections.

 

Rakesh Tikait with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

 

Lakhimpur Kheri incident

To make matters more worse for the saffron party, union minister Ajay Mishra’s son mowed down 4 protesting farmers and a journalist under the car he was driving in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri. Eight people were killed in total in the incident and the violence that followed. It enraged protesting farmers as well as common citizens when video of the incident came fore and showed the minister’s son running over the farmers. The minister and his son had earlier denied the allegations.

One more video from different angle to clear, what happened at #Lakhimpur_Kheri #LakhimpurKheriViolence pic.twitter.com/zwqmEXSDUA

— Shashi S Singh (@Morewithshashi) October 9, 2021

This came just a few months before the assembly elections in the key state of Uttar Pradesh. The spread of agitation in the Western UP and Rakesh Tikait’s popularity were already the matters of concern for the BJP, which is seeking re-election in the biggest legislative assembly of the country, clearing the party’s way to appear invincible for the 2024 general elections. The Lakhimpur Kheri incident only added fuel to the fire. Moreover, the UP police took an ample time to arrest the union minister’s son despite having clear evidences and witnesses against him. After rebuking by the top court, he was arrested. However, the demand for resignation of the union minister has not been met yet.

The announcement

When it was communicated on the morning of November 19 that the Prime Minister would address the nation, nobody could clearly figure out what it was about. The reason why no journalist, no matter how close to the establishment, saw this coming is the indomitable determination of Mr Modi to not move back and accept defeat in policy matters. He has not conceded before any agitation or protest before the announcement on November 19.

However, on that day, PM Modi announced the repeal of three contentious farm laws. He also assured farmers that the legislative process for the repeal would be completed in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the nation on November 19.

 

“I apologise to you, my countrymen, that despite my government’s good intentions, there may have been some lack in our Tapasya (penance) that we could not convince some of our farmer brothers of the intentions of these laws which were as pure as the light from a lamp,” he said, while announcing the repeal.

No discussion on important issues

After the Prime Minister’s announcement, the protesting farmers had declared that they will not return back home until the laws are scrapped officially in the parliament and their other demands are met. Their other demands include the legislation of assurance of MSP, compensation to the farmers who have died during the agitation and repeal of all cases registered against farmers across the country during the protests.

However, today in parliament, none of the other demands were discussed apart from the repeal of laws.

Rahul Gandhi, the Wayanad MP and Congress leader, questioned the move to push through the bill in the Lok Sabha in just four minutes without any discussion, saying it indicated that the government was “terrified”.

The bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha at 12:06 pm and passed by 12:10 pm.

“We wanted to discuss MSP (issue), we wanted to discuss the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, we wanted to discuss the 700 farmers who died in this agitation and unfortunately that discussion has not been allowed,” Rahul Gandhi said.