Damage control by EPS after MP speaks out of line in RS
The day the farm Bills were passed amid all the drama in Rajya Sabha, there was a small spotlight on SR Balasubramoniyan, an AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP, when he questioned the Centre for the urgency shown in pushing them through.
This came a day after O P Raveendranath Kumar, the AIADMK MP from Theni, vociferously supported the Bills in the Lok Sabha, saying it was going to “liberate the farmers from the clutches of middlemen and help them go beyond the mandi”. Though Balasubramoniyan voted for the Bill as per the party high command’s order, saying “criticism should not be confused with opposition”, his dissent not only became a talking point within the AIADMK, a key constituent of the NDA, but also gave enough fodder for the Opposition to unleash a smear campaign.
Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami quickly went into damage-control mode on Tuesday, saying he would soon seek an explanation from the Rajya Sabha MP. It is obvious that the CM wants to ensure all party members are on the same page regarding the legislation that has kicked up a storm in some states. But what is more important to understand is that the clarification is coming from a leader who has always been vocal about his agrarian background, wearing as he does his farmer badge on his shirt. He noted that the Bills would pave the way for decrease in transaction costs and fetch farmers a good price for their yield.
The EPS government has focused considerable attention towards the agricultural sector, with many reforms to help mitigate the farmland crisis in the state. In February, the government demarcated the fertile Cauvery Delta area as an exclusive agrarian zone even as a series of oil exploration projects were waiting in the pipeline. In June, it followed it up with an Ordinance that allowed farmers to sell their produce across the state to whoever offers a good price.
The June Ordinance, which also said no marketing fee should be collected from farmers, turned out to be in sync with the Centre’s farm legislation. Having positioned itself as farmer-friendly, it was natural that the government found the ‘free market’ Bills in Parliament as somewhat resonating with its farm policies. That was why Balasubramoniyan’s criticism was jarring and off-tune in the party’s agricultural reform rhythm and had to be nipped in the bud.