Sunday is a very important day in the Rajya Sabha, as three bills related to farmers have been introduced in the House on behalf of the central government. At the same time, the Congress-led opposition seems to be making a lot of efforts to stop it in the Rajya Sabha. On the other hand, the government has also done its best to pass the Bills.
According to sources, the government has also engaged opposition parties in their camp to get these bills passed in the house. It has been said that the government is in touch with the Shiv Sena and NCP regarding the bills. The doubts related to both these parties' bills are being removed.
At the same time, the BJP has issued a whip for its MPs. Explain that the government does not have majority data in the Rajya Sabha with 245 members. Currently, there are two vacancies in the House. In this case, the majority figure is 122.
Significantly, these Bills were passed in the Lok Sabha, as the government had a majority. At the same time, Akali Dal, which was a longtime NDA ally, opposed it. Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned as a cabinet minister in protest against the bills. There have also been large-scale protests regarding these bills, especially in states like Punjab and Haryana.
What is the position of the government?
The BJP has 86 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. If the NDA constituents and other smaller parties are merged, the number rises to 105. It does not include the three Akali Dal MPs, as the bill has been opposed by the party.
The majority figure in the Rajya Sabha is 122 and for this, the NDA needs the support of 17 MPs. The BJP is looking towards members of BJD, AIADMK, TRS, YSRC, and TDP to reach a majority.
The Rajya Sabha consists of 9 members of BJD, 9 of AIADMK, 6 of TRS, 7 of YSR Congress, and 1 of TDP. It is important to note that the government has often been supported by these parties in the House, so the government is sure that they can get support from them this time too.
Which parties have opposed the bills
The Congress has 40 MPs in the Rajya Sabha and is the second-largest party in the House. Congress is continuously opposing this bill. The opposition strength is close to 85, including members of other parties and TMC MPs in the Congress-led UPA. These include four NCP and three Shiv Sena MPs, whom the government has also approached.
On the other hand, in opposition to these Bills, the constituent of the NDA alliance is Shiromani Akali Dal, whose three members will vote against it. Three Aam Aadmi Party MPs, eight Samajwadi Party MPs, four BSP MPs will also vote against the Bills. That is, around 100 MPs will vote against the bill.
At the same time, 10 Rajya Sabha MPs are corona infected and will not participate in the proceedings. This includes MPs from BJP, Congress, etc. On the other hand, 15 MPs from different parties are not attending this session. In view of this, the government will not face much trouble in passing these Bills. There is a demand from the Opposition to send these Bills to the Select Committee, if the Government fails to get a majority, then the Government may have to accept the demand of the Opposition.