President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave assent to three contentious farm bills after they were passed by both Houses, amid massive protests from the opposition parties.
The bills, the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, have been dubbed a watershed moment for Indian agriculture by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 aims to permit the sale of agricultural produce outside the mandis regulated by the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) constituted by different state legislations.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, provides for contract farming.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020 deregulates the production, supply, distribution of food items like cereals, pulses, potatoes, onion and edible oilseeds.
However, opposition party members say they were passed undemocratically, with Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad saying there was no division of votes, no voice voting and that constitutional proceedings had been flouted in the temple of democracy.
The Shiromani Akali Dal snapped its ties with the BJP over the bills. Meanwhile, Farmers across the country have been protesting against the bills, which they fear will dilute market protections for them such as the Minimum Support Price.
The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee announced 'Rail Roko' protests in Punjab from September 27-29, with farmers lying on the tracks, forcing special trains to be cancelled in some areas.
With inputs from PTI
