Parliament to adjourn sine die after opposition boycotts session over farm bills

NEW DELHI: The Union government on Wednesday recommended that in the ongoing monsoon session, both Houses of Parliament would be adjourned sine die after completing the legislative business of the day. The decision was taken during the business advisory committee meeting on Tuesday evening.

The decision to adjourn both Houses of Parliament comes on a day when opposition parties have called for a meeting to discuss ways to take the protest against the recently passed farms bills forward and take the message to the people.

“I have to inform members that the government has decided to recommend adjournment of the House sine die today. But some important legislative business passed by Lok Sabha has to be disposed off before adjournment of the House sine die," V Muraleedharan, minister of state for parliamentary affairs, said in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday morning.

Most of the opposition parties and some alliance partners of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), including Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), have protested against the passage of the three farm Bills. Former Union minister and senior leader of SAD, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, had also resigned from the council of ministers during the session to protest against the farm Bills.

The early adjournment of both the Houses is also against the backdrop of growing cases of covid-19 pandemic in the country. Several lawmakers, including a few ministers, have tested positive for covid-19 in the last few days. Originally, the monsoon session was scheduled to go on till 1 October.

The meeting of opposition parties on Wednesday would be chaired by senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and would be attended by several political parties, including the Trinamool Congress. At least 15 political



parties from the opposition have also urged President Ram Nath Kovind to not give assent to the recently passed legislations.

Key opposition parties including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Left Parties among others had announced a boycott of both houses of Parliament. While the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, Congress' Azad, said the boycott would continue for the “rest of the session" until their demands over farm bills and revoking of suspension of 8 lawmakers are met, the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, has not specified the exact duration of boycott.

Amid complete absence of opposition in both the Houses on Tuesday, the government swiftly pushed through legislative business. Seven bills were passed in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday in a span of three-and-a-half hours including the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which removes controls on the holding and supply of key farm produce such as cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes. The Lok Sabha passed four bills including three on labour code on Tuesday.

Similarly, a busy legislative agenda has been planned for Rajya Sabha on Wednesday which was given a miss by key opposition parties. This includes three labour code bills: the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020; the Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020 for consideration and passage, as well as two appropriation bills for consideration and return.

The Lok Sabha, which will begin its sitting at 6 PM on Wednesday, will take up the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020; the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020 and he Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 for consideration and passage.