Farmers happy at Gurpurab surprise of PM's announcement, but wait for more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced a rollback of the three agri laws at the centre of protests by farmers for the past year, a surprise concession warily welcomed by farmers, happy but holding out for an MSP guarantee, and also politicians across divides.

Addressing the nation on Guru Nanak Jayanti, Modi appealed to farmers who had set up camp at entry points into the national capital since November 28 last year to return home. He maintained that the laws were for their benefit and then apologised to people of the country, adding that the government could not convince a section of farmers despite its clear heart and clean conscience.

"There may have been some shortcoming in our efforts due to which we could not explain the truth, as clear as the light of the diya, to some of our farmer brothers," Modi said, referring to the protests, spearheaded by farmers from Punjab and also Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. which left about 700 dead.

Welcoming the announcement of the repeal of the laws, which had pitted farmers and the government against each other through 12 months of dogged protests and 11 rounds of talks, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha said their agitation was not just against the repeal of the three black laws but also also for a statutory guarantee to remunerative prices for all agricultural produce and for all farmers.

This important demand of farmers is still pending," the umbrella body of 40 farm unions said in a statement. It said it welcomed the decision but would wait for the announcement to take effect through due parliamentary procedures.

As drumbeats were heard in several places and sweets distributed at the unexpected victory, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait added that the government should talk to farmers over the issue of minimum support price (MSP) of crops and other matters.

The prime minister in his speech that comes on the occasion of Gurpurab and also ahead of elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh early next year -- noted that it it is the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and no occasion to blame anyone.

"I have come to tell you that we have decided to repeal the three farm laws. In the upcoming Parliament session starting at the end of this month, we will complete the constitutional process to repeal the three farm laws," Modi said.

He requested all his farmer friends to return home to their fields and families and make a new beginning on this auspicious occasion, a day when gurudwaras across the country are lit up to celebrate the festival.

let us move forward afresh," Modi said, adding that the goal of the three farm laws was to empower farmers, especially small farmers.

He listed various steps taken by his government for the welfare of small farmers and pointed out that the agriculture budget has risen by five times with over Rs 1.25 lakh crore spent annually.

Modi said he had seen the challenges faced by farmers very closely in his five decades of public life. Therefore, when the country gave him the opportunity to serve as 'Pradhan Sevak' in 2014, he gave top priority to agriculture development and farmers welfare.

The three farm bills at the centre of emotive protests and debate are the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

According to Supreme Court-appointed farm panel member Anil Ghanwat, the move to repeal the laws is a regressive step because Modi chose politics over farmers' betterment.

Our panel had submitted several corrections and solutions over the three farm laws, but instead of using it to solve the impasse, Modi and BJP chose to backtrack. They just want to win elections and nothing else, the president of the Shetkari Sanghatna told PTI.

The ruling BJP will hope the decision to repeal the three laws will cancel out the political headwinds it has encountered in Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh.

Karnataka Chief Minister and party leader Basavaraj Bommai said the decision to repeal the laws showed Modi's sensitivity. Rejecting the claim that the government had bowed down to the protesters, he said the laws were part of the liberalisation and globalisation process started in 1991-92 and were in line with the previous UPA government's agreement with the WTO.

Opposition parties, on their part, congratulated the farmers for their triumph but also questioned the government's motives.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi described the Centre's decision as a "victory against injustice".

"Country's 'annadatas' (food providers) have made arrogance bow its head through satyagraha," Gandhi added.

"What cannot be achieved by democratic protests can be achieved by the fear of impending elections!" his party colleague P Chidambaram tweeted.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sent her heartfelt congratulations to every single farmer who had fought relentlessly and was not fazed by the cruelty with which @BJP4India treated you.

This is YOUR VICTORY! My deepest condolences to everyone who lost their loved ones in this fight. #FarmLaws," she tweeted.

Her Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin said Modi's announcement was a victory of the farmers' protest.

"I wholeheartedly welcome Hon'ble @PMOIndia's decision to repeal the three anti-farmer laws. History teaches us that people's wishes shall prevail in a democracy. I congratulate all the farmers & bow down to their determination for having achieved this through Gandhian means," the Tamil Nadu chief minister said.

In Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said anyone who believes the government repealed the farm laws out of the goodness of its heart was completely mistaken.

This government only responds to cold hard numbers - bypoll setback = fuel price reduction. Poor internal polls numbers for Western UP & Punjab = #Farmlawsrepealed, Abdullah wrote on Twitter.

In Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati's view, the sacrifices of the farmers had paid off with the government in the end withdrawing the three controversial laws but it was too late.

"The demand for a national law to assure support price for farmers' produce is still pending. The BSP demands that it should be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament. The government should accept this demand," she told reporters.