Hours after stating that he backed the resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly seeking withdrawal of the Union government’s farm laws, BJP MLA O Rajagopal said that he had vehemently opposed the resolution. Rajagopal is the only MLA of the BJP in the state. The Kerala Assembly on Thursday convened a special session and passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of the three contentious farm laws, which have triggered protests in Delhi.
"I have vehemently opposed the resolution passed in the Assembly. I had strongly expressed my stand while speaking at the session. I don't oppose the law passed by the Union government; neither have I opposed the Union government. The law is of utmost help for farmers,” he said in a statement, a few hours after he said in a press meet that he agreed with the resolution.
O Rajagopal abstained from voting in favour of the resolution and also said that the farm laws would help farmers, when the resolution was presented in the Assembly. But in a press meet held at the Assembly media room immediately after the session, Rajagopal said that he was in favour of the resolution and had objections against certain words in it.
“I have also made it clear, when the ruling and opposition members criticised the Prime Minister and said that he didn’t hold talks, that it was the stubbornness of the farmers’ unions that has caused the agitation to continue. It's a baseless claim that I am against the Union government. I have made it clear the farm laws were there in the election manifesto of the Congress while CPI(M) had earlier sought for the legislation through a resolution,” Rajagopal’s statement said.
“The Speaker didn't specifically ask for those who opposed and those who backed the resolution at the time of voting. This is a violation of precedence,” it added.