Opposition parties to petition President against farm Bills

The Opposition parties on Monday met before the session was convened and decided to petition the President under Article 111 of Constitution, urging him not to give assent to the two farm Bills passed in the Rajya Sabha.

The two Bills — Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 — were passed by the Upper House via voice vote.

Article 111 of the Constitution deals with Presidential assent for a Bill. “After serious deliberations this morning, we come to the conclusion that the passage of the two Bills was flawed and the only recourse with us is to petition the President not to give assent to these Bills,” a senior Opposition leader said.

The Opposition parties have argued that the Bills were passed in the Rajya Sabha post 1 p.m., when it was scheduled to end. They further claim that the time of the House was extended without taking the sense of the House and therefore invalid.

“It is a fact that when members demanded a vote on the statutory resolution, they were in their seats and there was no reason to deny them the vote,” the leader added.

Their petition to the President will become the basis of a legal challenge to the passage of these two Bills.

Meanwhile, the eight MPs who have been named by the Chairman Venkaiah Naidu have refused to leave the House, leading to a stalemate. The House has adjourned three times since morning.