Farmers protests find echo in Parliament, Opposition MPs stage walkout in Rajya Sabha

 MPs of the ruling and Opposition parties remained deadlocked on Tuesday on the issue of the three contentious farm laws and did not let Parliament function even as the government, which has taken a hard stand against the ongoing protests, said that it will not give compensation to the families of farmers who have died during the ongoing agitation against the new farm laws.

In a written reply to a question in Parliament, Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that during discussion with farmers'

unions the government had "appealed many times that children and elders including women should be requested to go home in view of the cold and Covid situation and other hardships." He, however, informed the Lower House that the government is negotiating with the farmer unions.In Rajya Sabha, Opposition MPs staged a walkout demanding a discussion exclusively on the farmers issues, and in Lok Sabha, MPs rushed to the Well of the House demanding that the three laws be scrapped, forcing the House to be adjourned twice before finally being adjourned for the day.

Minutes after proceedings began in Lok Sabha, Congress MPs, terming the three laws as “anti-farmer”, walked to the Well of the House asking the government to withdraw these laws. They were soon joined by TMC MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Saugata Roy. SAD MP and former minister in NDA government Harsimrat Kaur too stood in protest holding a placard.Despite Speaker Om Birla’s request to raise these issues during Question Hour, sloganeering continued, forcing the adjournment. Later, at 7 pm, when the House resumed, Om Birla asked BJP member Locket Chatterjee to initiate the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address amid sloganeering by the Opposition members. However, Opposition members continued to protest.

In Rajya Sabha, Opposition parties had given notice under rule 267, calling for the suspension of business of the day to discuss the ongoing agitation by farmers on Delhi borders. These parties included the Congress, TMC, CPI, CPI, NCP and RSP.