New Delhi, Nov 19: In a sudden and unexpected move, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announced the repeal of three contentious farm laws after a continuously defending these ofr over a year now. The decision came as a surprise to both his opponents and his supporters.
Also significant is the fact that PM Modi chose to make the all-important announcement on the occasion of Gurpurab, birth-anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism.
Under fire from several quarters on the issue, this one move by the Centre is bound to have an impact on areas beyond agriculture.
Here are the ten things you need to know on the issue:
1) What Prime Minister Modi said
In a televised address to the nation on Guru Nanak Dev's birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government will repeal the three farm laws. Modi appealed to protesting farmers to call off their agitation and return home as he called for a new beginning.
The Prime Minister spoke at length about the benefits these laws were expected to bring especially to the small farmers. He also apologized to the people of the country, saying he wanted to convey to them with a “sacred heart” that there may have been some shortcomings in the government's efforts that it could not convince some farmers about the truth that was “as clear as the light of a candle”.
“Despite our efforts, we could not convince some farmers. Even though it was only a section of farmers who were opposing, but they were still important to us … We continued to convince them will all humility and open mind,” Modi said.
A committee will look into other issues like Minimum Support Price (MSP).
The constitutional formalities to revoke the laws will be done in Parliament's winter session beginning from November 29.
2) How protesting farmers reacted
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of 40 farm unions welcomed Prime Minister Modi's announcement. “Samyukt Kisan Morcha welcomes this decision and will wait for the announcement to take effect through due parliamentary procedures,” the SKM said in a statement.
“The agitation of farmers is not just against the repeal of the three black laws, but also for a statutory guarantee to remunerative prices for all agricultural produce and for all farmers. This important demand of farmers is still pending,” it added.
3) The opposition's take
The Congress said the BJP's “fear of defeat” in the upcoming state assembly polls has forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take back his decision on three farm laws. The party also demanded that the Prime Minister apologize to the farmers for the “pain” inflicted on them.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked what is the roadmap for giving MSP to farmers, doubling farmers' income and of freeing them from debt. He said the “anti-farmer” BJP's powers and those of its capitalist friends have finally lost and today is the day of the defeat of Modi's “arrogance”.
Other opposition parties also attacked the BJP saying the move was timed keeping elections in mind.
देश के अन्नदाता ने सत्याग्रह से अहंकार का सर झुका दिया। अन्याय के खिलाफ़ ये जीत मुबारक हो!जय हिंद, जय हिंद का कि… https://t.co/iCshaeoS0v
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) 1637295714000
My heartfelt congratulations to every single farmer who fought relentlessly and were not fazed by the cruelty with… https://t.co/9T6NIIe0RQ
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) 1637296866000
4) What are pending demands and the road ahead
Ensuring that farmers get the Minimum Support Price (MSP) continues to be an important demand that the government will now have to negotiate. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said the ongoing anti-farm laws protest will be withdrawn only after the contentious legislations are repealed in Parliament. He stressed that the government should talk to farmers over the issue of minimum support price (MSP) of crops and other matters.
“The protest will not be withdrawn immediately; we will wait for the day when the farm laws are repealed in Parliament. Along with MSP, the government should talk to farmers on other issues too,” Tikait tweeted.
लड़ेंगे जीतेंगेएमएसपी पर गारंटी कानून बनाओ#FarmLawsRepealed #FarmersProtest
— Rakesh Tikait (@RakeshTikaitBKU) 1637320632000
5) Game on for BJP in Punjab assembly polls?
The retreat on the farm bills may help BJP make a comeback in the Punjab assembly elections. Although the party set-up in the state is weak, this move helps the party join hands with former chief minister Amarinder Singh to create a pro-farmer plank ahead of the polls.
The move also removes the hurdle for BJP's possible future tie-up with its former ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Although, the protest may still continue, all parties will have to recalibrate their strategy for the Punjab elections.
Amarinder Singh, who had announced the possibility of alliance with the BJP if the farm laws were repealed, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the announcement.
Great news! Thankful to PM @narendramodi ji for acceding to the demands of every punjabi & repealing the 3 black la… https://t.co/nXiftFXmog
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) 1637293994000
6) Battle for Uttar Pradesh
The Centre's move will also help the BJP reach out to farmers in western part of Uttar Pradesh, which goes to polls next year.
This was one of the regions where the farm agitation had considerable support.
The BJP, which had swept the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2017, understands the importance of another convincing win in the state in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
With the opposition parties making farm protests a key election issue in the state, the Centre's move may have ensured that they are forced to redraw their strategies.
The BJP's dominance in national politics depends on strong performances in Uttar Pradesh.
7) SC-appointed panel member questions move
The Supreme Court-appointed farm panel member Anil Ghanwat termed the Centre's move regressive.
“This is the most regressive step by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he chose politics over farmers' betterment,” Ghanwat told PTI.
“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,” he said.
The apex court had formed the panel after staying the operation of the three farm laws.
8) Experts worried about farm reforms
Many experts who felt that the farm laws would make agriculture profitable will have a reason to be disappointed.
Eminent economist S A Aiyar, had said the new farm laws were to help farmers get a better price by cutting out middlemen and improving marketing efficiencies, while giving farmers freedom to sell their produce anywhere in India.
Noted agricultural economist Ashok Gulati, who was a member of Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council from 1999 to 2001, said there was a great communication failure on the part of the Centre to explain to the farmers how these laws could help them.
Arvind Panagariya, who served as the vice-chairman of NITI Aayog between January 2015 and August 2017, strongly backed the new farm laws. He also said there is no downside and the upside is “significant”.
- Land acquisition law
This is not the first time that the Modi government has retracted on a major law. In 2015, the Narendra Modi-led BJP government had decided to revisit contentious clauses in a law aimed at facilitating acquisition of land after much opposition. At that time, the decision to pull back was taken ahead of the Bihar assembly elections.
However, the BJP may not be as flexible on other issues which had been contentious but are part of its core ideology like scrapping of Article 370.
Will the decision to roll back the law dent the strong image of the Modi government? The debate on this aspect will rage on. - Relief to commuters
Will today's announcement by the Centre end the blockades at Delhi's borders? Will the commuters who have been caught in the political cross-fire for nearly a year finally get a smooth ride home? Not yet.
While the government has made the big move, the protesting farmers have made it clear that they are not returning home immediately. With momentum on their side, they may not want to vacate the borders in a hurry.
