Rajasthan assembly passes three bills to counter Centre's farm laws

The Rajasthan assembly on Monday passed three bills by voice vote to counter the farm laws enacted by the Centre recently.

The BJP MLAs staged a walkout ahead of the voice vote.

Replying to a debate on the farms bills, Rajasthan Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal said that entire country is against the farm laws enacted by the Union government.

I can say it with guarantee that all three farm laws will have to be withdrawn just like the Land Acquisition Act, Dhariwal said.

Defending the central laws, Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said the Centre's farm laws were not introduced in Parliament all of a sudden.

Kataria said the laws were made after taking into account recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission, which talked about one nation, one market; contract farming; and abolition of indirect mandi taxes.

The Congress has brought the bills in the Rajasthan Assembly just to make their leaders in New Delhi happy, he said.

"If someone has worked to bring a change in farmers' life, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kataria said.

Following the debate, the House passed the Essential Commodities (Special Provisions and Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2020; Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2020; and Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation and Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2020 by voice vote.