September 20, 2020
Derek O’Brien speaks on The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Sir, how qualified am I to speak on this Bill? I belong to a party called All India Trinamool Congress. Let me take you back to the year 2006. The chairperson of this party, for the sake of farmers, or kisan, put her life at risk on a 26-day hunger strike, fighting for the rights of farmers.
How qualified is the Trinamool Congress to speak on these Bills?
Seven years ago, on September 4, 2013, during the voting on the Land Acquisition Bill, this side was the BJP, and that side the others. We were in the middle. We opposed the Bill. We only got 13 votes but we opposed the Land Acquisition Bill, upholding the rights of farmers. We were only 13. In 2016, the Supreme Court ordered that the rights of farmers, the land, be given back. But they are saying that is history.
Aaj toh adhunik Bharat hai, chalo, adhunik Bharat.
How is Bengal doing? How qualified are we, as the governing party in Bengal, to speak on this Bill?
For six years, this Central Government has given the Krishi Karman Award to Bengal.
Compare the Pradhan Mantri-Kisan Samman Nidhi, or the PM-Kisan Scheme, with the Krishak Bandhu Scheme, where the benefits are given to farmers, and which is funded by the Bengal Government. If you compare these two schemes, you would find that the Bengal scheme is better.
For Kisan Credit Card, we have 92 per cent coverage, with 55 lakh farmers from Bengal having the card.
Regarding crop insurance for farmers, for the PM Fasal Bima Yojana, 25 per cent is Central contribution. Uske pehle dete the 50 per cent, abhi kam kar diya hai. Mr Agriculture Minister, in your scheme, how much does the farmer pay for the insurance premium? In my State, the premiums during all the four stages, from pre-soil to pre-harvest, are paid by the State. The farmer has to pay nothing.
So now, how qualified are you?
Big speeches, 26-minute speeches. Now let me ask you. Yesterday the Pradhan Mantri said the opposition is trying to mislead the farmers. Achha? Let us see what credibility you have to make these speeches. You promised to double farmers’ income by 2022. Aap ne bola tha farmers’ income double hoga. Farmers’ income will not double before 2028 at current rates.
I can also give big talk but in Bengal, from Rs 90,000 in 2011, farmers’ income has now doubled. Triple ho gaya,in fact., to Rs 2 lakh 90 thousand. Not just a promise. Delivered by Mamata Banerjee in Bengal. Don’t give us lectures.
On notebandi, you also gave us a lecture. What happened? You all don’t even use the word now. After 50 minutes of announcing notebandi, let me read a tweet from Mamata Banerjee, “Withdraw this draconian decision”. Hum ne bola aur aap ne sirf suna.
You promote Digital India. Yet in both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, kuch bhi poochte hai, the response is “data not available”, “no data available”. And you make all these promises. You promised two crores jobs every year, but now you have the highest unemployment. I can go on and on. Your credibility is low to make promises.
By the way, there is the headline everywhere, that we are opposing this MSP. Please understand, in the food security system, if it was a body, with a heart, lungs, kidneys and a brain, MSP is only one of the four. We are opposing the entire thing: State’s role, MSP, PDS and public procurement. We are opposing all the four, so don’t bring this debate down to MSP only. Have you consulted the States? You’re reading about 2011. When you last wrote to the Bengal government, about the draft Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming Bill, the Bengal government opposed it.
The Contract Farming Bill is anti-constitutional. It cannot give the Central Government the right to legislate in the States. Regarding APMC, farmers are not protected in this Bill. The issue is federalism. As per this Bill, the States will not be able to ensure farmers’ interests, they will not be able to ensure that licensed traders are buying at MSP. What chance does the farmer have? What chance does he have to take the ‘big boys’ to court? To negotiate with the private purchaser? Who is the Centre trying to fool? You confuse people with the headline regarding MSP. No, we need to look at it very deeply.
For the consumers, what is the protection? What is the protection against hoarding, profiteering and price rise?
In all this, we can see a bigger picture. There is a much bigger picture and we can debate this Bill in greater detail. The bigger picture is, if you ask the BJP, it’ll tell you, “we have the numbers, you opposed this”. This is now beyond the farmers. I want the young people of India to understand what is going on in Parliament. These Bills have to be discussed and debated. We are one of only three countries in the world that do not have to call Parliament to pass a Bill. These Bills have to be discussed, scrutinised and legislated. You cannot do six minutes here and there. The young people of India are watching.. There are parties like my party, and all the parties in the opposition, which will keep fighting for our democratic right in Parliament. No! You have the right, the numbers to have your way, but also we have the right to have our say and keep you on track in a Parliamentary democracy.
Sir, this is a very dangerous trend we are following. I am going to tell you, when I get a chance to intervene, why we want this Bill to go to a Select Committee. A Select Committee is not like a handbrake, it is there to contribute. I am going to move for a Select Committee scrutiny. I am going to leave the BJP with one thought—and you don’t need to answer it, just think about it—how many BJP MPs have read these two Bills?
Thank you, Sir.
