Crucial Farm Bills Cleared In Parliament Amid Opposition Protests

The trouble started as the Speaker moved to pass the bills by voice vote.

Two of the government's three big ticket farm bills were passed in Rajya Sabha today amid unprecedented uproar and protests by the opposition, which claimed that the procedure took place in violation of all rules and was a "murder of democracy".

The heated debate ended in chaos as the opposition members rushed to the Well of the House, tore up the rule book and tried to snatch off the Deputy Chairman's microphone.

The opposition, which lacked the numbers to block the bills, had demanded that the bills be sent to a select committee for further discussion.  

The trouble started as the chair said the opposition resolution was negated and moved to pass the bills by voice vote. The opposition members rushed to the Well of the House, demanding a division of the house and said they were sitting in parliament.

Insisting that the rules were not being followed, Trinamool Congress's Derek O' Brien tore up the rule book from the Deputy Chairman's table. His mike was also dismantled.

"This is a brutal murder of the Parliamentary democratic system," said Derek O'Brien, whose point of order was not accepted.

"Mahabharat has broken out inside parliament," Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

The voice vote took place when the house resumed after a 10-minute adjournment amid repeated opposition slogans from the opposition who again parked themselves in the Well of the House.

The government had earlier said the bills are "historic" and will bring a change in the lives of the farmers.