Farm laws to be repealed during winter session: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the government has decided to repeal the three agriculture laws, which the farmers have been protesting since November 26, 2020, even as he stressed that the laws were brought for welfare of the farmers, especially small farmers.

Modi expressed regret that his government could not make a section of farmers understand the benefits of these laws despite various efforts and apologised to the countrymen for the long-drawn struggle.

"We could not make a section of farmers understand despite our efforts. Today, I apologise to the countrymen, there might have been some shortcoming on our behalf that we could make them understand. We have decided to repeal the three farm laws. In the Parliament session which will start later this month we will complete the constitutional process to repeal these laws," said Modi addressing the nation.

He appealed to the farmers protesting at the borders of the national capital to return to their homes and make a "new start".

"Today is Prakash Parv. This is not the time to blame anyone. On this auspicious Gurpurab, I appeal to the protesting farmers to return to their homes and families. Let us make a new start and go ahead in a new way," he said.

The three farm laws were passed by Parliament last year triggering strong protests from farmers especially from Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. The farmers claimed that the laws had been brought to slowly and gradually scrap the system of minimum support price (MSP).

They also argued that the three laws would corporatize the agriculture sector and small farmers would eventually become a sharecropper.

The PM said since he took over as PM, he has given highest priority to agriculture development and farmer welfare.

"Our agriculture budget increased five times than earlier. We not only increased the minimum support price (MSP) but also created a number of government procurement centres. The procurement of the produce made by our government has broken the records of the last several decades," Modi said.

The PM also announced the formation of a Committee to promote zero budgeting based agriculture, to change crop pattern as per the changing needs of the country and to make MSP more effective and transparent.

The Committee will have representatives of the Central government, State governments, farmers, agricultural scientists, and agricultural economists, he added.

The PM also expressed happiness that after a gap of one and a half years, the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor has now reopened.

While the Samyukt Kisan Morcha has welcomed the decision, they have declared they will take a final call, only when all official procedures are completed in the matter of the repeal.

The opposition leaders, meanwhile, have called the 'climbing down' of the government from its earlier arrogant stance a 'victory of Satyagraha' by the farmers. (UNI)