Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with his cabinet colleagues Prakash Jawdekar, Prahlad Joshi, Piyush Goyal, Thawar Chand Gehlot, and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi held a press conference on Sunday.
The agenda of the interaction was to answer questions related to the Centre's farm-related bills and the ruckus in Rajya Sabha earlier in the day."It is extremely shameful what happened in the Rajya Sabha today.
The government is responsible for running Parliament but the Opposition is also expected to realise its responsibility," Rajnath Singh said while referring to the ruckus in the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday.Members of Parliament, mostly from Opposition parties engaged in sloganeering while assembling in the well of the house and demanding a vote.
Visuals were also aired of some MPs reaching up to the chair occupied by Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayana Singh."An incident such as this has never happened in the parliamentary history of India.
I condemn what happened in the Rajya Sabha, it has harmed the dignity of parliament," he added.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh then turned to the two farm-related bills brought along with an Essential Commodities Bill to replace three ordinances enforced by the Centre earlier this year.
He said, "Farmers are being misled for political gains.
This is not indicative of a healthy democracy."He went on to add, "These bills are revolutionary, farmers' income will increase.
The truth is, that once these bills come into effect, farmers can sell their produce anywhere in the country wherever they get the best price.""Our government has always worked to increase MSP," Singh told reporters during the press conference on Sunday.Responding to a question about 12 Opposition parties bringing a no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayana Singh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "The chairman (Venkaiah Naidu) will decide, it is his prerogative."A reporter also asked Rajnath Singh about claims by Opposition parties that the BJP failed to convince its own Cabinet minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal over the legitimacy of the farm-related bills.
The Defence Minister said in response, "We are trying to make everyone understand.
Each person makes decisions based on political reasons."He also said in response to a question about the ruckus in Rajya Sabha, "Even if the MPs thought that they are not being heard, should they attack the chair? Climb on the deputy chairman's podium? Break a microphone? I have been genuinely hurt."Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said regarding the chain of events in Rajya Sabha, "The MPs went into the well when the vote was being called.
Deputy Chairman (Harivansh Singh) said division will be done when everyone returns to their respective seats but no one did."Towards the end of the press conference, Rajnath Singh responded to a question about claims made by Opposition parties about the farm-related bills affecting Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers and state-regulated Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC).
He said, "I want to give a message to the country's farmers- MSP and APMC will not be ended no matter what.
I am also a farmer."India Today's Poulomi Saha asked Defence Minister Rajnath Singh about the Swadeshi Jagran Manch's demand that the Centre write the term "MSP" in the act itself in order to guarantee that if anyone tries to byproduce at a price lesser than MSP, then it will be deemed illegal.To this, Rajnath Singh responded by saying, "There has been no such provision in the act even before."