Thousands of farmers protested at Delhi’s borders on Wednesday after the Union Cabinet approved a bill repealing three farm restrictions, according to Union minister Anurag Thakur.
“The Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, completed the formalities to abolish the three Farm Laws today. It will be our top priority during the upcoming Parliamentary session to repeal these three laws “Thakur stated.
The Agriculture Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 was passed just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the three core farm laws would be repealed.
The new law will now be tabled in the Lok Sabha for consideration during Parliament’s forthcoming Winter session, which starts on November 29.
For about a year, around 40 farmer unions have been protesting against these reforms, and one of their main demands has been the repeal of these three laws.
Modi announced the repeal of the three farm laws in his November 19 address to the nation, claiming that the government had been unable to persuade protesting farmers of the merits of the reforms. He had also encouraged them to call a halt to the demonstration and return home.
Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act are the three laws that will be repealed.
These restrictions, which were passed in September of last year, sparked major protests along the Delhi-Punjab border by thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh.
The demonstration began towards the tail end of November 2020 and is currently going on.
Meanwhile, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a federation of farmer unions that is driving the current protests, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, urging him to resume talks on the farmers’ six demands, which include a legal guarantee of crop procurement at a minimum support price (MSP).
Other requests included the dismissal and arrest of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri tragedy, the dismissal of farmer-related cases, and the construction of a memorial for those who died during the protest.
They also asked for the “Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act 2021” to be repealed and the government’s planned “Electricity Amendments Bill, 2020/2021” to be withdrawn.
SKM had stated that they will carry on with their planned protests, including a march to Parliament on November 29 to commemorate a year of anti-farm law demonstrations.
