Farmers Movement Archive

With U-turn on bills, BJD surprises many

BHUBANESWAR: In a move that surprised political circles, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Sunday opposed the two farm bills in the Rajya Sabha — the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 — after supporting the same bills in Lok Sabha three days ago. This is the first time BJD has opposed any legislation in the Rajya Sabha after NDA returned to power in the 2019 elections. From demonetisation to GST, CAA, triple talaq, RTI amendment and Article 370 revocation, the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD has been supportive of PM Modi’s policies. Therefore, BJD’s opposition to the farm bills on Sunday, just days after it had backed NDA nominee Harivansh in his re-election as Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson, came on unexpected lines. Party insiders feel that while the earlier policies of NDA that BJD had backed had nil or very little impact on the politics of Odisha, Naveen opposed Centre’s latest move because he might have sensed that the farm bills could upset his core vote bank – the farmers – in the largely agrarian state. BJD sources said the party had taken a feedback from some of its members in western Odisha, where farmers’ outfits have earlier staged protests against the bills, to get a sense of what the peasants were thinking about the proposed changes. “Ours is an agrarian state. We can’t afford to support any move until we are doubly sure that farmers’ interests will be protected. Our CM and party president must have taken a considered stand after taking a feedback from the stakeholders,” Prasanna Acharya, BJD floor leader in the Rajya Sabha, told TOI. Another MP, Amar Patnaik, urged the government to consider sending the bills to a select committee for further examination. “The small and marginal farmers do not even have the opportunity to get a minimum support price. There is a huge miscommunication in the field, particularly in the procurement areas,” he said in the House. Farmers have backed the party since its inception, helping BJD to form the government for five consecutive terms under Naveen’s leadership. Around 70% of the state’s 4.5 crore people are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture, with the majority of them being marginal and small farmers.

The Times of India

2020-09-21

India