Farmers Movement Archive

Political parties, groups welcome decision on farm laws, say it’s victory of farmers

Farmers’ outfits and political parties in the state welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to withdraw three farm laws and described it as a victory for the farmers. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that the central government should take stakeholders and Opposition parties into confidence to avoid such embarrassment in the future. On the other hand, NCP chief and former union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar took a jibe at the Central government and said that they repealed the laws because they were afraid that they would have to pay the price in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh and Punjab Assembly elections.“Fortunately, farmers from parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana were involved in the agitation. They realised that they will have to pay the price and thus repealed the laws,” Pawar said.He also talked about the resilience of farmers who sat through harsh weather conditions to mark their protest. The chief minister said that the announcement is an example of the strength of the common man of this country.“Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi has repeatedly clarified its stand against the farm laws. Besides, we have also discussed their adverse effects in the state cabinet meeting and in the state legislature. The central government would not have to face the humiliation if they had taken all the opposition parties and the concerned organizations in confidence before enacting the three legislations,” Thackeray said in a statement.He added, “Those who provide us food sacrificed their lives unnecessarily. But the feeders have shown their strength, I salute them. I humbly pay respects to the heroes who sacrificed their lives in the protest.”However, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said that the decision will lead to losses for farmers. He added that the decision was taken unwillingly. “The farm laws were introduced to safeguard the interest of the farmers. The decision to repeal them will cause a lot of losses and damage. Barring a few groups of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, farmers from across the country were in favour of the laws. We failed to convince the importance of the laws to this small group of farmers,” he stated.Social activist Ulka Mahajan, who participated in the agitations, said, “This is a big lesson to all political parties that you cannot win elections by cheating the farmers and hurting their interests.” State revenue minister and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said that the Central government cannot run away from the atrocities meted out to the farmers during their protest. “The Modi government should take responsibility for the deaths of the farmers and apologise for it,” he said.Prominent farmer leader Raju Shetti thanked Modi for repealing the act. “It shows that you cannot pass such laws on a brute majority,” said Shetti.Farmers also welcomed the decision. Kamalkishor Jogdande, a farmer from Bhokardan in Jalna district, said, “I welcome the decision. The laws were against the interest of farmers and would have deprived us of the existing benefits.”Ajit Nawale, state general secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha, which has been at the forefront in representing farmers in Maharashtra, said that the fight will continue.“The fight will continue till the implementation of the Swaminathan commission’s recommendations, guarantee of minimum support price and law for the assured returns on input cost,” he stated, adding that although 600 farmers lost their lives, they welcome the decision. Quote to highlight:The decision to repeal them will cause a lot of losses and damage. Barring a few groups of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, farmers from across the country were in favour of the lawsState BJP chief Chandrakant Patil

Hindustan Times

19-11-2021

Mumbai