Welcome to The Political Fix by Rohan Venkataramakrishnan, a newsletter on Indian politics and policy. To get it in your inbox every week,...
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The Big Story: Agri aggro
Is the Bharatiya Janata Party treating Parliament like a rubber stamp, instead of the consultative, representative body it is supposed to be? That is the question we asked on last Monday’s The Political Fix. Events over the last few days offer a pretty straightforward answer: yes.
On Sunday, Deputy Chairman Harivansh Singh declared that two controverisal bills on agriculture policy received enough support in the Rajya Sabha – measured by members yelling “aye” or “no” as loud as they could – to be passed into law. However, the chaotic circumstances made it clear that the voice vote was not definitive.
It is worth noting that analysts are divided on the effects of these laws. Some have referred to them as agriculture’s “1991 moment”, which will unleash growth in the sector by allowing farmers to sell their produce to any party of their vhoice rather than only in specific markets (read our earlier edition...Read more
