Farmers Movement Archive

Monsoon session ends in a flurry of protests

Opposition parties held three rounds of protests in Parliament on the last day of the monsoon session, and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad met President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him not to give his assent to the three farm Bills passed by both the Houses. At noon, in a silent protest, over 75 Rajya Sabha MPs belonging to the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party and Nationalist Congress Party marched from the Gandhi statue to the Ambedkar statue within the Parliament complex. A few hours later, another group of lawmakers from the TRS and Trinamool held a short dharna . In the evening, a set of Opposition MPs from the Lok Sabha took out a march. On Wednesday, Parliament passed three Bills — the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020; and the Social Security Code, 2020 — while the Opposition continued its boycott that started on Tuesday over the passage of the three agriculture Bills. Last-ditch attempt Opposition parties made a last-ditch attempt, writing a joint letter to the Vice-President and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha M. Venkaiah Naidu. Naming the three labour Bills, the parties said the Bills were passed in the absence of the Opposition parties. “It will be a great blot on our democracy to have these Bills passed unilaterally today,” they said. Opposition parties also had two rounds of meetings to chalk out a strategy to continue the campaign against the three farms Bills aimed at liberalising the agriculture sector. According to sources, the Opposition parties are exploring the possibility of holding an all-party meeting in the next few days. The parties also decided that each of them, at their levels, would hold campaigns in their respective States.

The Hindu

2020-09-24

New Delhi