Amid Opposition’s reservations about the possible entry of corporate houses, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed amendments to the Essential Commodities Act and a Bill mooting 30 per cent salary cuts for MPs in the wake of economic constraints due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Though the MPs supported the salary cut, a majority of them demanded the restoration of the MPLADS funds citing its need for the development in their respective constituencies.

BJP ally Akali Dal urged the Government to clear the doubts in the minds of farmers  on many points mentioned in the amendments to the Essential Commodities Act.  Akali Dal’s Sukhbir Singh Badal questioned the manner in which the ordinance was brought without having any consultation with farmers’ organisations. “The most affected are the farmers from Punjab. The farmers want clarification of their doubts; they fear that the multinationals will initially offer lucrative deals and then dominate the market,” said Badal.

Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said there are a lot of ambiguities in the amendments and this would open up the entry of big industries to enter into the stock holding and distribution of agriculture products. “This is a way to make hoarders ‘Atmanirbhar’,” he said in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for becoming self-reliant.

“The hoarders can create multiple entities to stock commodities. It is a highly centralised law. Under the law, licences are not required for purchasing produces. Why does this government rely all the time on the ordinance route? What was the link between the ordinance and the pandemic, the Government should explain,” added Chowdhury.

Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Raosaheb Patil Danve said: “The 1955 Act was brought at a time when we faced food scarcity, now we have surplus agriculture production. In order to reduce the losses, we should have food processing units, due to non availability of cold storages, farmers suffer losses. The proposed amendment will encourage competition and it will help farmers get fair price for their produces. The consumers will also benefit.” he said.

Supporting the amendments, Bhartruhari Mahtab from BJD, said there was a need to remove many restrictions in trade of agricultural commodities. “This reform will improve agricultural production, the Government should have done away with restriction on exports. We are self sufficient in food grains, we can counter China’s loan diplomacy with food diplomacy,” he said.

Earlier, Lok Sabha passed the bill reducing MPs’ salary by 30%. “The Government has taken unprecedented measures to tackle Covid-19. `20 lakh crore had been allocated as Covid-19 package,” said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi justifying the salary cuts.

However, majority of the MPs urged the Government to restore the MPLADS funds for the development of local areas. “Almost 80% of the fund is spent in rural areas; why are you taking away the funds meant to be spent on Scheduled Castes. Of the `2.69 lakh crore allocated during 2015-20 under the MPLAD head, `2.52 lakh crore was spent, such is the efficiency,” said Chowdhury, urging BJP MPs to pressurise the Government for the restoration of the MPLADS scheme.