PM Modi announced the scrapping of the controversial farm laws after persistent protests. The govt failed to onboard a section of farmers and caved into political pressure. Let's analyze what comes next
In a surprise announcement on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government would repeal three controversial agriculture laws after 358 days of non-stop protests by farmer groups mainly from Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh.
The decision came on the occasion of Gurpurab and a few months ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the hotbed of the agitation.
The Bills were passed in September last year in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha by voice vote and farmers have alleged ever since that the laws were made to help big businesses. Since then, the government’s 11 rounds of discussion with farmer leaders did not yield any meaningful results.
So, what are these three contentious laws that triggered India’s longest ever farm protests?
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act gave an additional option for farmers and traders to sell and buy outside the designated mandis.
States and commission agents feared the loss of revenue if farm trade moved out of mandis, whereas farmers feared this might have eventually led to the end of the MSP-based procurement system.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act provided a framework for contract farming. Farmer organizations said the law was framed to suit big corporations and would weaken the negotiating power of farmers.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act removed stockholding limits on certain agri-commodities except during extraordinary situations. The Opposition said the amendment would have benefited the hoarders, letting them dictate the terms, while at the same time hurting farmers and consumers.
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