Calling the Centre’s decision to repeal the farm laws as a “great victory for the farmers and the Congress”, senior party leader P. Chidambaram on Friday took a dig at the government, saying the move was not inspired by a change of heart but impelled by “fear of elections”.
His remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation on Friday morning, announced that the government has decided to repeal the three farm laws, which were at the centre of protests by farmers for the past year.
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“What cannot be achieved by democratic protests can be achieved by the fear of impending elections!” Mr. Chidambaram tweeted.
“The PM’s announcement on the withdrawal of the three farm laws is not inspired by a change of policy or a change of heart. It is impelled by fear of elections,” the Congress leader charged in a series of tweets.
“Anyway, it is a great victory for the farmers and for the Congress party which was unwavering in its Opposition to the farm laws,” Mr. Chidambaram said.
In another tweet, Mr. Chidambaram said if there is fear of losing the next election, the prime minister will – “admit that demonetisation was a Himalayan blunder, admit that the GST laws were poorly drafted and implemented in a hostile manner, admit that Chinese troops have intruded into Indian territory and occupied our land, admit that the CAA is a patently discriminatory law, admit that the Rafale deal was dishonest and requires to be investigated, admit that the acquisition and use of Pegasus spyware were illegal”.
Many farmers had been protesting and were encamped at Delhi’s borders since November 2020 with a demand that 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 be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee MSP for crops.
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The Centre, which has held 11 rounds of formal dialogue with the farmers, had maintained that the new laws are pro-farmer, while protesters claimed they would be left at the mercy of corporations because of the legislations.
