Farmers gather at Tikri Border ahead of one year anniversary of farmers' agitation against central governments' three farm reform laws, in New Delhi, Thursday, 25 November 2021. Image used for representation.
(Photo: PTI)
In an action-packed first day of the Parliament's Winter Session on Monday, 29 November, the highly-anticipated Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 was passed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha within minutes of its introduction, and amid vehement calls for discussion by the Opposition MPs.
This came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced, after witnessing over a year-long protests by the farmers, that the Centre's contentious farm laws would be repealed in the Winter Session.
Later, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmers unions, released a statement saying that this was the “first major victory of the farmers' movement, while other important demands are still pending”.
Speaking on how the farm laws and the bill to repeal them were bulldozed through the Parliament, SKM said in its statement,
Further, highlighting that the Statement of Objects and Reasons accompanying the repeal bill “cannot be farther from truth”, SKM said:
“In most state APMC Acts, farmers already have the freedom to sell their produce to any buyer at any place of their choice and such a freedom was not given for the first time by the Modi government as is being claimed.”
SKM further contested the claim that the laws were discussed with the farmers and said, “In a democracy, opportunistic consultations with industry-sponsored farm unions is not the way forward, and there have to be serious deliberative democratic processes adopted.”
Moreover, SKM pointed out that the Statement of Objects and Reasons for the Government of India's Repeal Bill reflects the “egoistic and adamant attitude of the present government, and it is only meant to misguide gullible people, if any.”
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Kadian president Harmeet Singh Kadian, told news agency ANI, “A meeting of SKM will be held on 1 December. The next decisions on agitation, over MSP Committee, will be taken in the next meeting. The meeting that was scheduled for 4 December will go on as decided. This is an emergency, special meeting (on 1 December) that will be held by the representatives of farmer organisations who went for 11 rounds of talks.”
Kadian was further quoted as saying:
Further, BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said, “Farm laws have been a disease and it’s good that they are revoked. Let the President put the stamp on the bill then we will discuss other issues like 750 farmers who died, MSP, and quashing the cases lodged against farmers”, ANI reported.
(With inputs from ANI and The Indian Express.)
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