(New Delhi) India will repeal three agricultural reform laws after a year of massive protests by angry farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Friday in a surprising about-face.
“We have decided to repeal the three agricultural laws. We will begin the constitutional process of repealing these three laws during the parliamentary session which begins at the end of the month, ”Modi said in an address to the nation.
“I call on all farmers participating in the protests to return home, to reunite with their loved ones, their farms and their families, on this auspicious day of Guru Purab”, the anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism, continued the Indian Prime Minister. Many protesting farmers belong to this minority religion.
“Let’s make a fresh start and move forward,” he added.
The weight of the agricultural sector is considerable in India, ensuring the subsistence of nearly 70% of its 1.3 billion inhabitants, and contributing to around 15% of the GDP.
“What I did, I did for the farmers. What I do, I do for the country, ”said the 71-year-old head of government. “I want to assure you today that you work harder so that your dreams can be realized, that the dreams of the country can be realized,” he promised.
” Excellent news ”
Amarinder Singh, former chief minister of the opposition party Congress of the State of Punjab, where many protesters come from, immediately welcomed Modi’s announcement describing it as “excellent news”.
“Thank you to PM @narendramodi ji for having acceded to the demands of all Punjabi and for having repealed the 3 black laws on the occasion of the #GuruNanakJayanti”, reacted Amarinder Singh on Twitter.
“I am sure that the central government will continue to work together for the development of Kisani (agriculture)”, he added.
Agricultural reforms were passed in September 2020 to allow farmers to sell their produce to buyers of their choice, rather than turning exclusively to state-controlled markets providing them with a minimum support price (MSP) for certain commodities. .
Many small farmers have been opposing it since November 2020 in mass demonstrations, considering themselves threatened by this liberalization which, according to them, risked forcing them to sell off their goods to large companies to sell them.
Since then, farmers have camped on the roads at the gates of New Delhi, where a solidarity network has been set up. Every day, tractors deliver carts of wood and food to them.
This agricultural movement is one of the biggest challenges the country has had to face since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.
The protests took a particularly violent turn in January during a rally of farmers who came with their tractors to New Delhi on the National Day celebrating the Indian Republic.
The protest then turned into clashes with the police during which a farmer lost his life and hundreds of police were injured.
Eight people died in Uttar Pradesh state last month, including four farmers, in clashes during a visit by Home Affairs Minister Ajay Mishra.
In recent months, while the sites of the peasant protest have become sparse, a contingent of determined activists have remained in place and major protests are expected this month to mark the first anniversary of their standoff with the government.