Farmers defer decision on future course of agitation to November 27

Farmers organisations have put off a decision on the future course of their year-long agitation against the three farm laws by a week and go ahead with their pre-decided protest schedule.

At a meeting of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella organisation spearheading the protests, farmer leaders decided to write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi listing out their other demands of granting legal cover to the minimum support price regime and wait for the formal repeal of the three farm laws.

The Union Cabinet, at a meeting on Wednesday, is expected to formally approve the bills to repeal the three farm laws, setting in motion the process for introduction in Parliament next week and bringing a closure to the year-long stand-off with farmers’ organisations.

SKM core committee member Balbir Singh Rajewal said the letter to the prime minister will also mention the demand for shelving the amendments to the Electricity Act and withdrawal of cases registered against farmers during the year-long agitation.

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“We will also write to him to sack Union Minister Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’ over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident,” Rajewal told reporters.

He said the SKM will hold another meeting on November 27 to decide future course of action.

Farmer leaders have been maintaining that the protesters will stay put at border areas of Delhi until the Centre formally repeals these laws in Parliament after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise announcement on Friday.

The farmers protests began in Punjab soon after the Modi government introduced the three laws by an executive order in June last year.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act; Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act were approved by Parliament in September last year giving a short shrift to the words of caution by opposition.

The steam rolling of the bills through Parliament intensified the protests and farmers from Punjab and Haryana moved to the Delhi borders in November last year to demand withdrawal of these laws.

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