Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday said that 16 opposition political parties will boycott President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to both Houses of Parliament on Friday, the first day of the Budget session. All the parties have demanded a fair investigation of violence in the national capital during the farmers’ tractor parade.
"We are stating 16 political parties that we are boycotting the President's Address that is scheduled to be delivered at Parliament tomorrow. The major reason behind this decision is that the Farm Laws were passed forcibly in the House, without Opposition," Azad told news agency ANI.
A joint statement, the opposition parties said that the Agri laws enacted in September violate the spirit of the feral structure of the constitution and are an attack on the rights of the states. The joint statement is signed by leaders of Congress, the Left, the Trinamool Congress, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.
"If not repealed, these laws will effectively dismantle the edifice of national food security that rests upon MSP, government procurement and public distribution system (PDS). The farm bills were brought without any consultations with states and farmer unions and lacked national consensus," the statement further said.
Lashing at the Modi government, the opposition leaders have called the BJP-led Central government as arrogant, adamant and undemocratic.
"India's farmers have been collectively fighting against the three farm laws arbitrarily imposed by the BJP Government that threaten the future of Indian agriculture which sustains over 60 per cent of India's population and the livelihood of crores of farmers, sharecroppers and farm labour. Lakhs of farmers have been agitating at the gates of the national capital of Delhi braving biting cold and heavy rain for the last 64 days for their rights and justice. Over 155 farmers have lost their lives. The government remains unmoved and has responded with water cannons, tear gas and lathi charges," the statement read.
The statement further added, "Every effort has been made to discredit a legitimate mass movement through a government-sponsored disinformation campaign. The protest and the agitation have been largely peaceful. Unfortunately, there were few acts of violence on January 26, 2021, in the National Capital of 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 Central Government's nefarious role in orchestrating those events.”
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On Wednesday, the National Congress party had accused the Centre of “intelligence failure” and held Amit Shah responsible for the Republic Day tractor march violence and called for Shaah’s immediate resignation.
In a decision taken together, all the said opposition parties will strongly oppose the budget session of the Parliament over the three Agri laws, India-China tussle and the grim economic situation.