Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader O. Rajagopal, MLA, sprang a surprise on Thursday when he chose not to oppose the resolution passed by the State Assembly demanding that the Narendra Modi government repeal the contentious farm laws.
After the session, Mr. Rajagopal told reporters here that he supported the resolution and that it was indeed passed unanimously.
‘General consensus’
On his part, he had opted to go along with the general consensus in supporting the resolution, he said.
The Opposition, Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), had joined the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in supporting the resolution presented by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Mr. Rajagopal abstained from the voting and Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan declared that the resolution was passed unanimously.
Asked whether he supported the resolution, Mr. Rajagopal replied in the affirmative. He said he had reservations regarding certain points in the resolution, which he pointed out in his speech. Nonetheless, he was in agreement with the substance of the resolution, he said.
“I gave my opinion. But that is not consensus. I accept that. Isn't that the democratic spirit,'' he said in reply to questions. He said he did not believe that his stand created a problem for the BJP. “I interpret it as democratic spirit,” he said.
In his speech in the Assembly, Mr. Rajagopal said the laws were designed to protect farmers. The laws avoided middlemen and commission agents and enabled farmers to sell their produce wherever they chose to.
Those who opposed the laws were against the farmers, Mr. Rajagopal said.
He expressed the hope that the discussion in the Assembly would contribute to fruitful discussions for resolving the dispute.