Indian PM withdraws 3 farm laws amid year-long farmers protests

NEW DELHI: In a surprise move, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced to withdraw all the three farm laws passed by the Indian Parliament last year.

“We will complete the process of repealing all the three farm laws in the forthcoming winter session of the parliament later this month,” said PM Modi while addressing the nation on TV.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from northern states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc., had been protesting against the three farm laws for almost a year. The protesting farmers had been camping on various entry points around Delhi, after being denied entry into the national capital by the government.

Modi’s announcement came on the day of a Sikh festival “Prakash Parv” (festival of lights), celebrated on a grand scale by the Sikh community.

The announcement also assumed significance as it came a couple of months ahead of the Assembly elections in the northern states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, besides Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur.

In the next few days, Modi is slated to visit Uttar Pradesh to address a couple of political rallies in Uttar Pradesh to garner political support for his Bhartiya Janata Party ahead of the state polls.