Mr Tomar blamed “some people” for the scrapping of the controversial laws – repealed in Parliament with the same lack of debate and discussion that heralded its passing – and then seemed to suggest that all three “black” laws re-appear at a later date.

“We brought the agriculture amendment laws. But some people did not like these laws, which, after 70 years after Independence, were a big reform under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership,” the Agriculture Minister said.

“But the government is not disappointed… we moved a step back and we will move forward again because farmers are India’s backbone,” he said, at an event in Nagpur on December 24.

Two days before it scrapped the farm laws, the government issued a note on ‘Objects and Reasons’.

The note, signed by Mr Tomar and released to members of Parliament, blamed a group of farmers for standing in the way of “the endeavour to improve the condition of farmers…”, and said the government “tried hard to sensitise farmers on the importance of the farm laws”.

Last month Prime Minister Modi – in a stunning announcement just three months before elections in UP and Punjab (where farmers’ votes are key) – said the three farm laws would be withdrawn.

The government’s  U-turn – after senior figures, including the Prime Minister and the Agriculture Minister, spent months verbally attacking the protesting farmers and defending the three laws – raised questions from the opposition, who pointed to elections on the horizon.

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This bills were passed amid most of the opposition including the Congress, Left parties, the TMC, the Samajwadi Party and the NCP decided to boycott House proceedings in protest against the suspension of eight MPs for the remainder of the session for unruly behaviour.

Only members from the ruling BJP and its ally JD-U and those of parties such as AIADMK, BJD, YSR-Congress and TDP, which have been extending support to the Modi government on various issues, participated in the debates on the bills.

In most bills, the members participation was sparse and the minister’s reply brief.

The Upper House took up government legislative business after nearly an hour of discussion over the conduct of opposition MPs during the passage of two agriculture reform bills on Sunday, with Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu saying the suspension could be revoked if the members expressed regret over their action.

The Oppositon decided to boycott the proceedings of Rajya Sabha till three key demands as well as requests of revoking of the suspension of eight members, are met. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had declared in the upper house on Tuesday as high drama continued for the third straight day.

The suspended members continued their sit-in on the lawns of the parliament complex till about 11:30 AM after spending the night there in protest. They were suspended over Sunday’s unprecedented chaos and “unruly behaviour” in the Rajya Sabha when two controversial farm bills were passed.

Expressing solidarity to the protesting parties, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar announced that he would observe a day-long fast on Tuesday. He criticised the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chaiperson’s conduct and the Modi government’s decision to thwart the Opposition in the House.

The NCP chief further said that the eight MPs were expelled for voicing their opinion and added that the Deputy Chairman did not give priority to rules of the House.

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The Minister did not specify how he arrived at the above figures. He reiterated in Parliament that India has the lowest proportion of deaths in the world compared to other countries. It has already been pointed out that this comparison is not logical enough as the number of tests in India is very small.

India has the second lowest test rate in the world among the 10 most infected countries. Observers point out that in the northern states, only 30 percent of ordinary deaths are registered. Therefore, it is natural to wonder how close to reality the COVID-19 death toll in India is.

It has become amply clear that the government on the defensive was scared of facing questions regarding the pandemic and the question and answer session in Parliament had to be avoided because of this.

When protests erupted against this move the question time was cut in half. The first day’s session made it clear that the government did not even have accurate figures when questions arose. Replying to a question, Union Minister Santosh Gangwar said that the death toll during the lockdown was not known.

Even though the government has the date on the number of migrant workers who have returned home, it does not have any data regarding accidents and fatalities sustained during the exodus or how those who returned home safely are faring now.

Social activists like Yogendra Yadav have already pointed out the death toll from the lockdown. But it is strange that the government does not have any figures on this. The government does not account for job losses due to COVID either. It is clear from this lack of answers why the government was compelled to skip the question and answer session. How can a government that does not have statistics on the social and economic repercussions of the lockdown be able to formulate guidelines for overcoming the crisis we are faced with?

It was expected that the Prime Minister would be speaking about success in the fight against COVID in Parliament. The Prime Minister’s heroism in his speech about six months ago was that we would win the war against the Corona virus in 21 days, just as the Pandavas had subdued the Kauravas in 18 days in the Mahabharata war.

The Prime Minister, who dared to compare the defence against an epidemic with the Mahabharata war, can be expected to speak sometime during the Parliament session on the continuation of that war, the end to which there is no certainty. Our Prime Minister is the one who has passionately declared that if things do not go well within 50 days of the implementation of the note ban, he may be punished by the people according to their fancy.

He later seems to have forgotten about the statement itself. Similarly, before the end of this parliament session one can expect someone to ask whether the 21 days mentioned six months ago have disappeared from memory and the Prime Minister would hopefully give a reply.

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It was for this remark Jaya Bachchan charged that the film industry was being defamed and slammed those from the entertainment industry indulging in it, saying they are biting the hands that feed them.

She also said that she completely disagrees with those who called the entertainment industry a “gutter”.

Through a Zero Hour mention in Rajya Sabha, Bachchan said the entertainment industry was being flogged by social media and asked the government to protect and support it.

Jaya Bachchan said the entertainment industry in the country provides direct employment to 5 lakh people daily and indirect employment to 5 million people.

Ravi Kishan, a popular actor of Bhojpuri and Hindi films, and a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh, raised in parliament the drugs-related allegations that have emerged against the film industry in the Sushant Singh Rajput investigations. He alleged a “conspiracy” by Pakistan and China to destroy the country’s younger citizens.

Responding to Ms. Bachchan’s remark, Ravi Kishan said that he expected her support. He said that he didn’t mean to say the whole industry is marred with drugs but those who do are trying to destroy the world’s largest film industry.

The Narcotics Control Bureau is investigating charges of drug-dealing and use based on chats found on the phone of Rhea Chakraborty, a 28-year-old actor being investigated over the death of her boyfriend, popular star Sushant Singh Rajput, on June 14.

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The Speaker has called a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, which began at 11 am on September 13, to discuss the agenda for the session that concludes on October 1. Among those attending the meeting are Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, BJP’s Arjun Ram Meghwal, Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Choudhury, AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi.

In that meeting, issues such as the abolition of Question Hour and the curtailing of Zero Hour are likely to be raised. The government has stood firm on its decision of not resuming the Question Hour, which has generated much resentment among the opposition MPs.

A decision on the discussion on the Indo-China stand-off, the contraction in economy and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic will be issues the opposition is expected to raise.

The government has to decide whether it will agree for these short-duration discussions without voting. In 2017, citing national security, the government had refused to speak on Doklam.

Parliament was adjourned indefinitely in March, days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the countrywide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.

This is also the first parliament session being held after 20 soldiers were killed in the line of duty in Ladakh, amid clashes with China. The fatality at the Line of Actual Control – the de facto border between the two nations – in June is a first in four decades and the government may find it difficult to avoid a discussion on the issue.

Ahead of the session, all the members of parliament were requested to get themselves tested for COVID-19. The pandemic has cast a shadow over the monsoon session, with at least seven union ministers and two dozen lawmakers recovering from COVID-19. Around 200 of the 785 MPs are above the age of 65 years, the population vulnerable to coronavirus.

The session will have the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha working in separate shifts and there will be special seating for MPs to ensure distancing. Lok Sabha will sit from 9am to 1pm on the first day and from 3pm to 7pm till October 1. Rajya Sabha will sit from 3pm to 7pm the first day and 9pm to 1pm the rest of the days. Weekends will be working days.

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