While no official reason has been cited, the decision comes just ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament that is scheduled to commence on November 29. In the last session of Parliament, the opposition attacked the government strongly over the laws, and it led to acrimony and impacted the functioning of the Houses.
Mr Modi. They had mobilised farmers and civil society in Sikh-majority Punjab and spread quickly to parts of Uttar Pradesh, states which will see key elections early next year. Taken aback, Mr Modi’s government had called protesters names and stubbornly stuck to its position.
The BJP, which had not anticipated such a blowback, has been trying hard to placate the Sikhs. Much of its executive meeting earlier this month was devoted to assuaging the community’s sentiments: increasing farm budget and crop prices, re-opening a historic corridor to one of Sikhism’s holiest shrines in Pakistan, a fresh probe to punish the guilty in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.
What were the three farm laws?
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020: It seeks to give freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside the notified APMC market yards (mandis). This is aimed at facilitating remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels. Farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce under this Act.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020: This legislation seeks to give farmers the right to enter into a contract with agribusiness firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters, or large retailers for the sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price.
Centre said that it seeks to transfer the risk of market unpredictability from farmers to sponsors. Besides giving them access to modern tech and better inputs, it also seeks to boost farmer income by reducing the cost of marketing.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020: The law seeks to remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onion, and potatoes from the list of essential commodities and will do away with the imposition of stock holding limits on such items except under ‘extraordinary circumstances’ like war, famine, extraordinary price rise and natural calamity.
