The Union Cabinet will approve the proposal to withdraw the three farm laws in its next meeting on Wednesday, The Hindu reported on Sunday, citing an unidentified government official.
“The repeal of the three farm laws – The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 – will be taken up for approval in the Union Cabinet meeting to be held on Wednesday,” the official told The Hindu.
Following the Union Cabinet’s approval, the proposal to repeal to laws will be taken up by the Parliament. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the three laws will be repealed during the Winter Session scheduled to commence on November 29.
However, farmers’ unions have said that they will continue to hold agitations at the borders of Delhi till the farm laws are revoked in Parliament.
They also said that the government should introduce a law to guarantee minimum support price for crops and withdraw cases lodged against protestors during the agitation against the farm laws.
Responding to Modi’s Friday announcement, the Opposition had pointed out that the announcement to withdraw the laws came ahead of the Assembly elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh scheduled for early next year. Farmers from the two states have been at the forefront of the agitation.
“What cannot be achieved by democratic protests can be achieved by the fear of impending elections,” Congress leader P Chidambaram had tweeted. “PM’s announcement on the withdrawal of the three farm laws is not inspired by a change of policy or a change of heart. It is impelled by fear of elections.”
Farm laws
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi’s border entry points since November 2020, seeking the withdrawal of the farm laws.
They farmers expressed fear that the central government’s new laws would make them vulnerable to corporate exploitation and dismantle the minimum support price regime.
The Centre, however, had claimed that the laws would give farmers more access to markets and boost production through private investment.
In January, nearly two months into the protest movement, the Supreme Court suspended the implementation of the farm laws. It instead set up a committee and tasked it to consult stakeholders and assess the impact of the laws.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!