27 MPs to boycott President’s budget session address in solidarity with farmers

Members of Parliament (MPs) from 16 opposition parties have announced their decision  to boycott the President’s address to be delivered to the two Houses of Parliament on Friday, on the first day of the Budget session. The decision was taken to express solidarity with protesting Indian farmers demanding the repeal of three contentious farm laws, and to protest the Union government’s “insensitivity” in its response. This includes twenty-seven MPs from 16 opposition parties, including Congress, DMK, NCP, Shiv Sena, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, RJD, CPI(M), CPI, IUML, MDMK, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference and Kerala Congress (M). 

A joint statement issued by the opposition leaders also sought an “impartial investigation” into the Republic Day violence in Delhi, alleging that the Union government had played a role in orchestrating the events. 

Noting that farmers’ protests over the past two months had been largely peaceful, the statement said, “Unfortunately, there were few acts of violence on January 26, 2021 in Delhi which was condemned universally and unequivocally. We also express our sadness over the injuries sustained by Delhi police personnel while handling the difficult situation. But, we believe that an impartial investigation will reveal the Union government's nefarious role in orchestrating those events.”

The statement said that in spite of the farmers agitating at the borders of Delhi in difficult weather conditions, the Union government “remains unmoved and has responded with water cannons, tear gas and lathi charges.” It added that there have been attempts to “discredit a legitimate mass movement through a government sponsored disinformation campaign.”

Stating that the constitutional validity of the farm laws remains questionable as they were passed without proper consultations with states and farmer unions, the opposition leaders called the response of the BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi “arrogant, adamant and undemocratic.” 

The leaders who will be part of the boycott include Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jairam Ramesh, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Farooq Abdullah, TR Baalu, Tiruchi Siva, Derek O’Brien, Sanjay Raut, Ram Gopal Yadav, Manoj Jha, Elamarama Kareem, PR Natarajan, Binoy Viswam, PK Kunhalikutty, Vaiko, Badruddin Ajmal and others.