Congress to convene Opposition meet to form strategy for Budget session

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Congress to convene Opposition meet to form strategy for Budget session

Last Updated : 27 Jan 2021 09:41:40 PM IST

Congress to convene Opposition meet to form strategy for Budget session

The Opposition is gearing up to formulate a joint strategy to corner the government on the farm laws during the upcoming Budget Session of the Parliament, especially following the violent clashes which broke out between the police and the protesting farmers in the heart of the national capital after the latter's proposed tractor rally on Republic Day went awry.

The joint Opposition meet is set to be convened after the Presidential address and ahead of the presentation of the Budget, though no date has been finalised yet.

Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi is speaking to the leaders of the opposition parties to convene the meeting through video conferencing, sources said.

The Congress is reaching out to all the like-minded parties to press the government for repealing the farm laws passed in September last year, which have become the bone of contention between the farmers and the government as many rounds of talks between the two sides have failed to break the deadlock.

After Tuesday's clashes, the Opposition is up in arms, alleging that hooligans had created ruckus in the national capital in connivance with the government.

The Congress, DMK, Nationalist Congress Party, Trinamool Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Left have backed the farmers' agitation while the Shiv Sena too has supported the farmers' demand. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have also demanded the repealing of the three farm laws.

The CPI-M on Wednesday issued a statement which said, "The Politburo of the CPI(M) once again calls upon the Central government to immediately announce repealing of these laws and move towards this end in the forthcoming Budget Session of the Parliament."

Akali Dal, which was part of the NDA alliance before breaking ties over the farmers' issue, is also reaching out to the like-minded parties to boycott the all-party meet to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

On January 19, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had passed three resolutions, including one demanding the withdrawal of the three farm laws.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal had said, "The CWC noted that these three laws impinge upon the Constitutional rights of states and constitute the first step in dismantling the three pillars of the edifice of food security built over the past decades -- MSP, public procurement and PDS."

He reiterated that the three farm laws did not pass the Parliamentary scrutiny as they were bulldozed by muzzling the voice of the Opposition, particularly in the Upper House.

"There is only one demand of the farmers and the farm labourers -- repeal the farm laws. But the government continues to side-step, malign, deceive and hoodwink the farmers by attempting to tire out, intimidate and divide them," he had said.