Farm bills were passed as per procedure — Rajya Sabha deputy chairman

New Delhi, Sep. 27 (PTI): Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh on Sunday reiterated his stand that the farm bills were passed on September 20 as per procedure and the division of votes demanded by the opposition could not be taken up as the House was not in order.

Reacting to a media report in this regard, the deputy chairman said that “as per rules and practice, in order to have a division, two things are essential”. “Firstly there should be a demand for division and equally important that there should be order in the House,” he said in a statement.

The Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, were passed in the Rajya Sabha by voice vote on September 20 amid a din.

Clarifying his position further, Harivansh said the statutory resolution disapproving the ordinance and the amendment for the reference of the bill to a select committee moved by K K Ragesh were negatived by a voice vote by the House at 1.07 pm as the member was in the Well of the House and not on his seat in the gallery at that point of time.

It can be seen in a video that after calling him to move his resolution and amendment, “I looked at the gallery, but he was not there”, Harivansh said.

On Tiruchi Siva’s demand for a division on his amendment for reference of his bill to select committee from his seat at 1.10 pm, the deputy chairman said the video shows that around 1.09 pm, one member was tearing the rule book and throwing it at me.

“Besides, I was surrounded by some hostile members, who were trying to snatch papers from me,” he said.

Harivansh also put out a detailed chronology of events at the time of passage of the farm bills on September 20.

The deputy chairman also said, “I hold a constitutional position and therefore, cannot issue a formal rebuttal. I am bringing these facts to your notice and leave it to your conscience for your judgement.”

He was responding to a media report that said that official footage of Rajya Sabha TV shows that members K K Ragesh of CPI-M and Tiruchi Siva of DMK, were on their seats while demanding a division of votes to their motions, negating the deputy chairman’s claims that members were not on their seats at the time.