Anna Hazare, the 84-year-old Gandhian and activist, on Friday, 29 January, called off his indefinite fast against the three new farm laws, claiming that some of his demands have been agreed upon by the Centre.
Hazare announced his decision to reporters in front of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. "Since the Centre decided to work on these 15 issues (his demands for farmers), I have cancelled tomorrow's fast," he added, quoted NDTV.
“The Union government has agreed to some of my demands and also announced setting up a committee to improve the lives of farmers. I have decided to suspend my proposed indefinite fast starting from Saturday,” said Hazare according to PTI.
“It is not a crime to protest peacefully... I have been raising the farmers’ issue for three years... they die by suicide because they don’t get the right prices for their crops... the government has decided to increase the MSP (Minimum Support Price) by 50 percent. I have got the letter,” he said, reported NDTV.
Hazare was centrestage at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan carrying out a hunger strike during the 2011 anti-corruption movement.
Hazare Had Announced Fast Just Hours Earlier
Earlier in the day, Hazare, from his village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra had announced a fast from Saturday in support of the lakhs of farmers who have been protesting at Delhi’s borders for the past three months against what they call the three “anti-farm laws”.
Hazare had criticised the Centre’s move saying they have ‘no sensitivity left for farmers’, he said, “I have been demanding reforms in the agriculture sector, but the Centre doesn’t seem to be taking the right decisions,” quoted NDTV.
He had mentioned then that he had written five times to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar and hadn’t heard back.
(With inputs from NDTV and PTI)
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