Opposition parties, who are agitating against the passage of contentious farm bills by Parliament, on Wednesday petitioned President Ramnath Kovind, urging him not to give his assent to the legislations as they are “against the interests of the farmers and have been passed in an unconstitutional manner”.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad met the President on behalf of 18 opposition parties this evening. It was in pursuance of a representation that the parties had sent to the President earlier in the wake of the passage of the bills by the upper house.
“Rules, regulations, procedures were all blown to pieces in the temple of democracy. We have urged the President that since the bills were not passed in a proper manner, they are unconstitutional and hence he should sent them back. We approached the President since he is the protector of the Constitution,” Azad said after the meeting.
“Our plea to the President is that the bills need to be properly discussed and the amendments and resolutions moved by opposition members need to be taken up. He can then give his assent to the bills,” he said.
The opposition parties had on Monday taken a decision to approach the President, urging him not to give his assent to the farm bills that were passed amidst din in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday. A letter was sent by the opposition parties to the President, raising issues with regard to the passage of the bills and seeking an appointment with him to discuss the same.
“Since the bills will have an impact on farmers, the government should have talked to all political parties regarding them and ought to have consulted farmers' representatives,” Azad said.
The opposition has in its representation to the President complained about the manner in which the farm bills were passed. “Opposition leaders moved five resolutions, on which voting ought to have taken place. Two MPs had moved motions for the bills to be sent to the select committee, but they were not taken up,” said the veteran leader.
“We have apprised the President that on extending the sitting of the House (on Sunday), our views were disregarded. Only two parties were for it. That led to a furore in the House. The government is responsible for the pandemonium in the house, not us,” he said.
The opposition also took up the issue of Deputy Chairman Harivansh proceeding with the process to pass the bills in the din, through voice vote, and the opposition members' demand for a division of the House for voting on the bills was not heeded.
