Congress MLAs walk out of Uttarakhand assembly over farm laws

The Opposition Congress on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Uttarakhand Assembly in protest against the Centre’s new farm laws, saying they were meant to destroy farmers.

The Congress MLAs walked out when state Agriculture Minister Subodh Uniyal accused the party of being hand in glove with middlemen and fomenting the agitation to retrieve its lost political ground.

The Congress members led by Leader of Opposition Indira Hridayesh rose from their seats in protest when Uniyal said they did not seem to have read the new farm laws thoroughly and their party was misleading farmers to suit its own political ends.

Asking why farmers are out in the streets in severe cold if the new farm laws are in their favour as being claimed by the Centre, Hridayesh said the ongoing agitation by farmers has drawn international attention with even Canada supporting the stir.

Accusing the government of being insensitive to the plight of farmers, she said it sits unperturbed while farmers are dying.

The heated exchange between the treasury and opposition benches was witnessed in the Assembly during a debate on the admissibility of an adjournment motion on the new farm laws.

She warned that the Centre will have to pay a big price for its insensitivity to an issue like this.

The Congress MLAs also accused the state government of not keeping its pre-poll promise of a loan waiver to farmers despite being in office for more than three years.

The Congress MLAs walked out of the House when Uniyal was still speaking on steps taken both by the Centre and the state government for the benefit of farmers.

Uniyal said the state government has introduced over 100 reforms aimed at improving the lot of farmers.