Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Senior Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh on Friday welcomed the Centre's decision to repeal the three contentious farm laws, terming it a victory of farmers and democracy, and said it would have been better if the rollback was carried out earlier as it would have saved the lives of several protesters.
The farmers protesting against these three laws braved severe heat, cold and rains and spent several nights on the streets, leading to around 600 of them losing their lives, and they were labeled terrorists, anti-national and middlemen, but they did not relent, Nath said in a statement.
"The Congress openly supported their (farmers') demands and now after a year on the occasion of the Guru Nanak's Prakash Parv, the Modi government has been forced to announce their repeal. We welcome it," Nath, a former chief minister and current Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, said.
"It is a victory of justice, truth and the tough struggle of the farmers which has forced an arrogant and stubborn government to bow down. If the people of the country continue to teach such lessons to the BJP (an apparent reference to the poor show of the ruling party in the recent bypolls), then they will always win like this," Nath added.
Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet and the BJP continuously asserting that these laws were good for farmers, democracy and the agitation of farmers have won, said Rajya Sabha MP Singh.
Praising the protesters and expressing grief over those who died amid the stir, Singh said it has been explicitly expressed that if a government introduces a law without consultation, then these farmers, who are aware of their rights, will show that they cannot be fooled.
Singh demanded that the PM bring a bill to quash these laws in the coming session of Parliament, discuss the matter with political parties and farmers' organizations to give it a legal shape, announce a law for the purchase of crops on MSP and recognize the sacrifice of farmers who lost their lives in the stir by giving them compensation.
The Centre will repeal the three farm laws, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Friday, 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.
Several farmer bodies had been protesting against the laws since they were passed in Parliament in September last year after being first enacted through ordinances.
They were encamped at Delhi's borders since November 2020, seeking the repeal of 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.
They also sought a new law to guarantee a minimum support price for crops.
