[Marxistindia] Assault on Indian Parliament

[news from the cpi(m)]

September 21, 2020

Press Statement

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued  
the following statement:

Condemn Assault on Indian Parliament
Join Countrywide Protest Against Farm Bills on September 25

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the manner in which  
this BJP government is bulldozing legislations through the parliament  
violating all parliamentary procedures and denying MPs the right to  
discuss and seriously consider legislations that are being brought  
which have disastrous consequences both for the country and the people.

Misusing the serious concerns regarding the spread of the Covid  
pandemic, even this constricted parliament session has been curtailed  
and the government is keen to bulldoze all the 11 ordinances it has  
issued during the lockdown period are legislated as laws.

The bulldozing of the ordinances concerning Indian agriculture as  
legislations was done denying the MPs the opportunity to discuss and  
refusing to have a division through a vote on these Bills in the Rajya  
Sabha. This is unprecedented and tantamount to murder of democracy.

Every Member of Parliament has inalienable right to ask for a division  
of vote on any matter that comes before the parliament for approval.  
This right was trampled with utter contempt. In a highly condemnable  
manner 8 RS MPs, who sought a division of vote, have been suspended.  
It is clear that the BJP/NDA did not have a majority in the Rajya  
Sabha with all the opposition parties arraigned against these  
legislations. These new laws are therefore illegitimate, illegal and  
the President of India must send back these legislations to the Rajya  
Sabha for reconsideration under Article 111 of the Indian Constitution.

These new laws handover India agriculture, our produce and our markets  
to foreign and domestic agribusiness corporations. This immensely  
benefits foreign and domestic corporates to reap super-profits,  
imposing misery both on the farmers and the people. The Minimum  
Support Price is bound to be abolished. Though very shoddily  
implemented, the MSP, nevertheless provided some security of income to  
the farmers. With the amendments to the Essential Commodities Act, the  
scope for large scale hoarding creating artificial food scarcity and  
price rise, threatens the country and the people.  The proposals for  
“land pooling” and legalising the  contract system with benefits to  
agribusinesses will completely destroy traditional farming. India’s  
food security is at stake.

Further, agriculture is a State subject under the Indian Constitution.  
These legislations bypass the elected state governments and hence are  
a further serious undermining of federalism, a basic feature of our  
Constitution.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) extends the Party’s full support to the  
call given by the kisan organisations for a countrywide massive  
protest action on September 25.

The Central government must withdraw these Bills in the interests of  
India, our annadathas and people’s entitlements to food security.



For CPI(M) Central Committee Office