Powered by
Sponsored by

Congress to demand separate law on MSP in Parliament

Party will also press for the removal of Union minister Ajay Mishra

Congress said it will reach out to all opposition parties to mount a united counter to the Modi government on the floor of the house | Sanjay Ahlawat Congress said it will reach out to all opposition parties to mount a united counter to the Modi government on the floor of the house | Sanjay Ahlawat

The Congress will demand repeal of the three contentious farm laws on the very first day of the upcoming winter session of Parliament on November 29. The principal opposition party has also decided to urge upon the government to bring in a separate law on Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops as demanded by farmers and press for the removal of Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra over his alleged involvement in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

The party decided its agenda for the upcoming session of Parliament at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group held at the residence of party chief Sonia Gandhi. The winter session is especially significant since it is the last session of Parliament ahead of the coming round of Assembly elections, and both the ruling BJP and the opposition parties would want to use it to convey electorally crucial messaging to the voters.

The meeting was attended by party leaders including A.K. Antony, Mallikarjun Kharge, Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh, K.C. Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Kodikunnil Suresh, Manickam Tagore, Gaurav Gogoi and Ravneet Bittu.

Kharge later told the media that the Congress will reach out to all opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, to mount a united counter to the Modi government on the floor of the house. This is significant since the relations between the Congress and the TMC are not on the best of terms, especially since Mamata Banerjee's party snatched away some Congress leaders and recently left the party reeling in Meghalaya as 12 of its 18 MLAs switched sides to join the TMC.

“We will call upon leaders of various parties as part of our efforts to bring opposition parties together on these issues in Parliament,” Kharge said.

Meanwhile, amongst the issues shortlisted by the Congress to take up during the coming session are inflation, prices of petrol and diesel, Chinese aggression on the border and the growing incidence of violence in Jammu and Kashmir. The party will also demand that the government pay a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of those who died because of COVID-19.

📣 The Week is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TheWeekmagazine) and stay updated with the latest headlines