AGL 40.00 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
AIRLINK 129.06 Decreased By ▼ -0.47 (-0.36%)
BOP 6.75 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (1.05%)
CNERGY 4.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-3.02%)
DCL 8.55 Decreased By ▼ -0.39 (-4.36%)
DFML 40.82 Decreased By ▼ -0.87 (-2.09%)
DGKC 80.96 Decreased By ▼ -2.81 (-3.35%)
FCCL 32.77 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
FFBL 74.43 Decreased By ▼ -1.04 (-1.38%)
FFL 11.74 Increased By ▲ 0.27 (2.35%)
HUBC 109.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.97 (-0.88%)
HUMNL 13.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.81 (-5.56%)
KEL 5.31 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-1.48%)
KOSM 7.72 Decreased By ▼ -0.68 (-8.1%)
MLCF 38.60 Decreased By ▼ -1.19 (-2.99%)
NBP 63.51 Increased By ▲ 3.22 (5.34%)
OGDC 194.69 Decreased By ▼ -4.97 (-2.49%)
PAEL 25.71 Decreased By ▼ -0.94 (-3.53%)
PIBTL 7.39 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-3.52%)
PPL 155.45 Decreased By ▼ -2.47 (-1.56%)
PRL 25.79 Decreased By ▼ -0.94 (-3.52%)
PTC 17.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.96 (-5.2%)
SEARL 78.65 Decreased By ▼ -3.79 (-4.6%)
TELE 7.86 Decreased By ▼ -0.45 (-5.42%)
TOMCL 33.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.78 (-2.26%)
TPLP 8.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.66 (-7.28%)
TREET 16.27 Decreased By ▼ -1.20 (-6.87%)
TRG 58.22 Decreased By ▼ -3.10 (-5.06%)
UNITY 27.49 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.22%)
WTL 1.39 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.72%)
BR100 10,445 Increased By 38.5 (0.37%)
BR30 31,189 Decreased By -523.9 (-1.65%)
KSE100 97,798 Increased By 469.8 (0.48%)
KSE30 30,481 Increased By 288.3 (0.95%)

NEW DELHI: Eight Indian lawmakers were suspended from parliament Monday for "unruly behaviour" after opposition to contentious new farming legislation sparked some of the most chaotic scenes in recent years.

MPs in the upper house had on Sunday torn up copies of the legislation, broke microphones, hurled copies of the parliamentary rule book and staged a sit-in protest once proceedings were adjourned after a tumultuous day.

The eight -- all members of parties opposing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- were suspended from the legislature for a week and will likely miss the remainder of the monsoon session.

Parliament under the previous Congress-led government was routinely paralysed, with shouting, jeering and protests frequently forcing adjournments.

Three bills were approved on Sunday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said would achieve a "complete transformation of the agriculture sector" and empower "tens of millions of farmers".

The plight of farmers is a hot-button political issue in India, with around 70 percent of rural households depending primarily on agriculture for their livelihood. Debt, drought, extreme weather and poor infrastructure and coordination -- large amounts of produce rots before it reaches market -- have driven thousands of farmers to suicide in recent years.

The new legislation breaks the system of all farmers selling produce to government-regulated markets at fixed prices by freeing them up to supply to any buyer they choose.

The government says this will increase farmers' earnings and encourage investment and modernisation. But critics say that it will give the private sector excessive influence.

There have been several days of protests by farmers opposed to the legislation, including in Punjab, Haryana and West Bengal. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of main opposition Congress party, attacked the suspensions on Twitter and accused the BJP of "turning a blind eye to farmers' concerns."

Comments

Comments are closed.