Farmers Movement Archive

NDA ally Hanuman Beniwal quits Parliamentary panels

JAIPUR/NEW DELHI: A key NDA partner in Rajasthan, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) leader and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal, on Saturday resigned from three parliamentary committees in support of the farm agitation against the Centre’s recently passed farm laws and said he will lead a protest at the Rajasthan-Haryana border on December 26. The Nagaur MP, an important Jat leader from the desert state, said he continues to be part of NDA but will take a call on continuing his association soon. “I continue to be part of NDA so far,” said Beniwal, whose party has three MLAs in the state. आज किसान आंदोलन के समर्थन में व लोकहित के मुद्दों को लेकर संसद की 3 समितियों के सदस्य पद से त्याग पत्र लोकसभा अध्य… https://t.co/GAbv2C1GGB— HANUMAN BENIWAL (@hanumanbeniwal) 1608373256000“Decision about continuation in the alliance will be taken on December 28,” Beniwal said. He had expressed concerns earlier as well, but held back after BJP functionaries spoke to him. At the same time, Beniwal also announced he will contest the assembly elections due in 2023 and by-elections for the three assembly seats next year on his own, indicating that his ties with NDA have become tenuous. He also said he would lead a march with farmers from across Rajasthan assembling at Shahjahanpur border. “More than two lakh farmers from the state will reach the Rajasthan-Haryana border,” he claimed. The leader's decision to join NDA helped BJP score a clean sweep in the state during the Lok Sabha polls. It had required some persuasion to get him on board given his strained ties with former CM Vasundhara Raje. Beniwal submitted his resignation from parliamentary panels to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. "I had raised various people-centric issues with the committees I was part of in Parliament. It is said that action has not been taken on the issues. There is no justification for committees in the parliamentary system if action is not taken,” he said in a statement. He said, “As the issues remained unheard and due to the farm agitation, I am resigning from the committees.” Beniwal was a member of parliamentary committees on industries; petroleum and natural gas; and petitions. He has been supporting the farmers’ agitation and had demanded the laws be withdrawn and asked the Centre to implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee on agriculture fully. After a meeting in Jaipur on Saturday, Beniwal said his party has always stood by farmers and will continue to do so. In the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, RLP contested a seat in Rajasthan in alliance with NDA at the Centre. Beniwal contested from Nagaur in the last Lok Sabha elections in alliance with BJP and won. Earlier, RLP contested the assembly elections in 2018 alone and the party won three seats.

The Times of India

2020-12-20

Jaipur