Rahul Gandhi terms PM’s announcement on repeal of farm laws as a ‘victory against injustice’

NEW DELHI, (PTI): The ”annadatas” (food providers) of the country have made ”arrogance bow its head down” through ”satyagraha”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday and described the Centre’s decision to repeal three contentious farm laws as a ”victory against injustice”.

His remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation on Friday morning, announced the government’s decision to repeal the three farm laws, which were at the centre of protests by farmers for the last one year.

”Country’s annadatas have made arrogance bow its head down through satyagraha. Congratulations on this victory against injustice! Jai Hind, Jai Hind ka Kisan,” Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

In another tweet, he said it is also a victory for those who could not return home.

”Defeat is only theirs, who could not save the lives of ‘annadaatas’…,” the former Congress chief tweeted with the hashtag ”FarmLawsRepealed” and shared images of farmers struggling during the protests against the three laws.

He also wrote an open letter to farmers, congratulating them on their ”historic victory”, and assured them of his party’s support in their future struggles. Noting that the struggle is not over yet, he asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to dare again to ”conspire” to make farmers slaves in their own land by playing into the hands of a few capitalists and urged him to work towards fulfilling his promise of doubling farmers’ income by 2022.

He said getting a minimum support price (MSP) on crops, a repeal of the controversial Electricity Amendment Act, a reduction in the tax on equipment used for farming, a cut in the unexpected increase in the diesel prices and finding a solution to the debt burden on farmers and labourers are serious matters for further struggle.

Several Congress leaders highlighted that Gandhi had, in a tweet on October 29, said only barricades were removed from the farmers’ protest sites and the three contentious laws will also be done away with soon.

They also shared his earlier comments in which he had said, ”Mark my words, the government will be forced to take back the farm laws.” Many farmers were encamped at Delhi’s borders since November 2020 with a demand that the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the 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 enacted to guarantee the MSP on crops.

The Centre, which held several rounds of talks with the protesting farmers, had maintained that the laws were pro-farmer, while the protesters claimed that they would be left at the mercy of corporations because of the legislations. (PTI)