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The controversial farm Bills that were passed recently by the Parliament will reduce the distance between traders and farmers, said Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
In an interview to news agency ANI, Tomar said that politicians and farmer leaders, who assume that they are experts actually have no expertise – taking a swipe at the protests over the contentious Bills.
He added that welfare of farmers couldn’t be realised without changing laws, and added that these Bills are revolutionary and bring “freedom” for farmers.
Farmers' Produce Trade & Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Bill and Farmers (Empowerment & Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance & Farm Services Bill were passed earlier last week, amid strong opposition both inside and outside the parliament.
The passage of three contentious farm Bills were at the centre of attention this Monsoon Session. The controversy first erupted on 17 September, when two of these Bills were passed in the Lok Sabha, even as Harsimrat Kaur Badal – a member of BJP’s ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and a minister in the Modi cabinet – resigned from the government.
Then, on 20 September, the Farmers’ and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, were passed in the Rajya Sabha by voice vote, even as the Opposition claimed to have demanded a division of votes.
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