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Street protests seem to have galvanised the Opposition with 16 parties planning to boycott the Presidential address to the joint session of Parliament on Friday in a clear indication that the budget session is likely to be stormy.
The Opposition is planning a coordinated strategy to aid the farmers’ movement on which police crackdown has started following the Republic Day violence. CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said in separate press conferences that the Opposition parties will sit together to form a joint strategy for the session.
‘Proactive role’
Yechury said the Opposition leaders have been meeting on the issue of farmers and they will take a more proactive role as the Centre is trying to suppress the agitation. Kharge reiterated the Congress stand that Home Minister Amit Shah must resign over the incidents of violence on Tuesday. He said it is a big issue and the Centre is ignoring the protests of farmers. The joint statement of 16 parties said the farmers have been collectively fighting against the three farm laws that threaten the future of Indian agriculture which sustains over 60 per cent of the country’s population and the livelihood of crores of farmers, sharecroppers and farm labour. “Lakhs of farmers have been agitating at the National Capital, braving biting cold and heavy rains for the last 64 days for their rights and justice. Over 155 farmers have lost their lives. Every effort has been made, to discredit a legitimate the mass movement through government- sponsored disinformation campaign,” the leaders said.
They said an impartial investigation will reveal the Centre’s nefarious role in orchestrating the events on the Republic Day.
The three farm laws, if not repealed, will effectively dismantle the edifice of National food security that rests upon the MSP, government procurement and public distribution system (PDS), the leaders claimed.
“The farm laws were brought without consulting States and farmer unions and lacked national consensus. Parliamentary scrutiny was bypassed and the laws were pushed through muzzling the Opposition, in brazen violation of Parliamentary rules, practices and conventions. The very constitutional validity of these laws remains in question,” they said.
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