Boycotting President's Address: Opposition Trying To Mislead Farmers
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-01-29 05:44:56
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
The Congress-led decision by opposition parties to boycott the address of the President to the joint session of Parliament to mark the start of the Budget session is incomprehensible and unfortunate. Ostensibly, the opposition parties have decided in favour of the boycott because of the government apathy towards the ongoing protests by the farm unions against the new farm bills.
But has the government shown apathy towards the farmers? From the very beginning, it is the government (after its initial mistake of autocratically rushing through the legislations without due process) that has been accommodative and flexible while the unions have been inflexible in demanding a repeal of the laws as a precondition for both talking about them and withdrawing their agitation. The government knew that since the union leaders had little control over their flock, the tractor rally would lead to an unpleasant situation. Yet it gave in at the insistence of the unions. The result was there for all to see. Hence, there is little logic in the opposition decision to boycott the President's address in a hollow protest.
The opposition's decision will embolden the farm unions who will see it as a lifeline to continue their agitation and seek the support of political parties now, changing the largely apolitical profile of the Morcha. Logically, they now have little reason to continue with the agitation. They should either join the SC appointed committee for talks or take up the offer of the Union government to keep the bills in abeyance for 18 months and thrash out the differences. That offer still stands, despite the Republic Day anarchy. One feels they should accept the offer, withdraw the agitation for now and return to the negotiating table.
They should not fall for the opposition ploy of both keeping the agitation going and sticking to their inflexible demand of complete repeal of the laws. That would worsen matters and invite punitive action from the government. After the violence, even the Supreme Court might be inclined to pass restrictive order against them. Hence, in the interest of the nation and their own interest, the unions must accept the government offer and return to the fields for now. They must appoint a committee of union leaders that will talk with the government and sort out the differences.
