Oppn Parties Pen Letter to Prez, Urge Him Not to Sign Farmer Bills

President Ram Nath Kovind

(Photo Courtesy: @rashtrapatibhvn)

Atleast 15 political parties on Monday, 21 September, wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him not to sign the farm bills that were passed, amid significant protest, in the Parliament on Sunday.

These parties include Congress, DMK, CPI(M), JD(S), AITC among others.

In the letter addressed to the President, these parties wrote, “We, belonging to diverse political parties cutting across India's political and geographical spectrum, bring this representation to you to respectfully draw your urgent attention to the absolute and total murder of democracy, ironically in the most hallowed temple of democracy, parliament.”

“We pray that you return the bills and do not append your signature. We pray that you exert all powers, constitutional and moral, to ensure such a black law does not become law...”

Opposition parties in letter to President Kovind

Earlier on Monday, a delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders met the President and requested him not to sign 'anti-farmer' bills that have been forcefully passed in Rajya Sabha, reported ANI, quoting party president Sukhbir Singh Badal.

We requested him to send back the bills to Parliament, Badal reportedly said.

WHAT HAD BADAL PREVIOUSLY SAID?

Badal had, on Sunday, written to the President, asking him to not sign the Bills, saying: “Democracy means consensus, not oppression”.

“A sad day for democracy indeed if it leads to 'annadata' starving or sleeping on roads,” Badal wrote.

SAD leader and former Union Cabinet Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal had on Friday resigned from the government, saying that “farmers and SAD are synonymous”.

BACKGROUND

Two of the three farm Bills were passed in the Rajya Sabha on Sunday, 20 September, by Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, amid massive protests by farmers across Haryana. The passing of the Bills also witnessed a ruckus in Parliament as Opposition parties criticised the move.

Meanwhile, while moving the Bills in the Rajya Sabha, Tomar said that the minimum support price or MSP-based procurement of agriculture crops from farmers will continue and is not related to the farm Bills.

Soon after the passing of the Bills, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to refer to it as a “watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture.”