Farm laws repeal: First do it in Parliament, guarantee MSP, say farmers

Distributing sweets and dancing farmers who have been camping at the Singhu border for over a year were a happy lot on Friday Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the repealing of the three farm laws in the upcoming winter session of Parliament The fight however is not over yet and the protest sites will not be vacated the agitators saidBharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said the protest will be withdrawn only after the three legislations are repealed in Parliament and legal guarantee on minimum support price MSP for crops madeldquoThe farmers are not going back home without this Where we are today Palghar crops are not bought at MSP The issue of MSP is one that affects entire nationrdquo Tikait said asking the Centre to hold fresh talksSamyukta Kisan Morcha SKM leader Hannan Mollah also said they will now press for a law to guarantee MSP SKMrsquos core committee member Darshan Pal said ldquoTo bring a consensus on the future course of the agitation and discuss MSP and other demands the farmersrsquo body will meet on Saturday and Sunday The final decision will be taken on Sundayrdquo Addressing the nation on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti Modi said the farm laws were for the benefit of farmers but ldquowe couldnrsquot convince a section of farmers despite best effortsrdquoHundreds of farmers have been encamped at Delhirsquos borders since November 26 2020 demanding repeal of Farmersrsquo Produce Trade and Commerce Promotion and Facilitation Act 2020 Farmersrsquo Empowerment and Protection Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities Amendment Act 2020 and a law to guarantee MSP for cropsBJP hopes to regain ground in Punjab placate Jats in UPAs the campaign for the upcoming assembly polls gathers pace PM Modirsquos decision underlines the ruling BJPrsquos imperative to make amends and infuse a fresh momentum in its political drive especially in efforts to retain its dominance in Uttar Pradesh With sections of Jats seemingly angry with the BJP and even several Jat leaders of the party admitting to slide in their fortunes in the western UP where the community is concentrated the region was seen as a roadblock in its efforts to repeat its 2017 show in the upcoming polls BJP leaders said the decision also shows the partyrsquos genuine efforts to win over the Sikhs who joined by sections of Jat farmers in Haryana and western UP have been in the vanguard of the protests in Punjab While the party will hope to make a fresh political start in Punjab in an expected tie up with former chief minister Amarinder Singh its stakes are the highest in UPHow will farm laws be repealedThe Centre will have to move a bill in Parliament to repeal the three agri laws Constitution and legal experts said on Friday ldquoFor repeal the power of Parliament is the same as enacting a law under the Constitutionrdquo explained former Union law secretary P K Malhotra ldquoThere is no other wayrdquo said former Lok Sabha secretary general P D T Acharya adding that the government can repeal the three laws through a single repealing bill ldquoWhen a repeal bill is passed it is also a lawrdquo observed Malhotra They are laws passed by Parliament which have received assent of the President said Malhotra noting that they can be repealed by Parliament alonePleas in SCSeveral pleas challenging the laws are pending before the Supreme Court and they would become infructuous after the Centre either passes a law or brings an ordinance to repeal these statutes said senior lawyer and constitutional law expert Rakesh Dwivedi He said that now the top court is not required to deal with the constitutionality of contentious provisions of the lawslsquoModi chose politics over farmersrsquoSupreme Courtappointed farm panel member Anil Ghanwat described as regressive the Centrersquos decision to repeal the farm laws ldquoThis is the most regressive step by PM Narendra Modi as he chose politics over farmersrsquo bettermentrdquo he told PTI ldquoThey BJP just want to win elections and nothing elserdquo He said the decision has ldquonow closed the doors of all types of reforms in agriculture and its marketing sector The farmersrsquo interest has been sacrificed over the partyrsquos political interestrdquolsquoElection gimmickrsquoPriyanka Gandhi Congress leaderlsquoModi ji your ministerrsquos son crushed the farmers to death you didnrsquot care Your party leaders insulted the farmers and called them terrorists traitors you yourself called them lsquoandolanjeevirsquo beat them with sticks arrested them Now sensing defeat in polls you have suddenly started to realise the reality mdash the country has been built by farmersrsquoMahua Moitra TMC leaderlsquoWhether it was fear of losing UP or finally facing up to conscience BJP govt rolls back farm laws But till the farm laws are actually repealed in Parliament we canrsquot trust the BJPrsquoPinarayi Vijayan chief minister KeralalsquoIndian farmers have written a great page in the history of class struggle for an egalitarian world Greetings to farmers who fought tirelessly overcoming several challengesrsquoSept 27 2020Day the three farm bills got President nod became lawsNov 26 2020Day Punjab Haryana farmers reached Delhi border to protest750No of farmers farm workers who died during the protestThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever