PM must apologise for hardship caused by his dictatorial step of enacting farm laws: CPI-M

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning announced the government will repeal the three farm laws and the legislative process will be completed during the upcoming Winter session of Parliament.

''The quest for justice for those targeted by the government and its agencies through false cases will continue. The prime minister must apologise for the hardship and trouble caused by his dictatorial step of farm laws to benefit his crony business partners,'' CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in a tweet.

''Salutes to our farmers and their brave struggle which has led to the repeal of Modi's three black farm laws. We must not forget the sacrifice of more than 750 farmers who have lost their lives in this struggle,'' he said.

In a press conference later, Yechury said while the prime minister announced the repeal of the laws, he did not assure the main demand of the struggle for the legal entitlement to sell all crops at MSP.

The prime minister has announced the formation of a committee to examine the issue.

''This (MSP) was an issue when the prime minister was the chief minister of Gujarat when he had written to the then Central government that the MSP should be a legal entitlement. So, there is no need for committees. Committees mean more delay and in effect means denied,'' Yechury claimed.

He also said the Electricity Amendment Act and matters related to farmers and their demands must be taken up.

''I would like to remind people of the remarks of the prime minister and all his agents when they started denouncing the farmers as 'Khalistanis', 'terrorists'. The prime minister himself termed them 'andolanjeevis'... they intimidated and unleash violence on the farmers.

''We demand that strict action be taken against such people who indulged in intimidation and attacks on farmers. The minister involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident should be dismissed,'' the CPI(M) leader said.

Yechury further claimed that although the government's move to repeal the contentious farm laws comes ahead of key states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab going to polls, the year-long confrontation with the farmers will ensure their defeat.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh under the aegis of various farmers unions have been protesting at the borders of the national capital since November 26 last year demanding repeal of the three farm laws.

Farmers have been demanding that the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020; be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee the minimum support price for crops.

The Centre, which has held 11 rounds of formal dialogue with farmers, had maintained that the new laws are pro-farmer, while the protesters claim they would be left at the mercy of corporations because of the laws However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Friday that the Centre will repeal the three farm laws, marking a climbdown by his government to meet the unrelenting demand of farmers protesting in several states against the reform measures for over a year.

Modi also announced the formation of a committee to promote zero budget-based agriculture, a term for farming based on natural fertilizers and local seeds, to change crop patterns as per the changing needs of the country and to make minimum support price (MSP) more effective and transparent.