President Ram Nath Kovind on December 1 gave his assent to a bill passed by Parliament to repeal three farm laws, 12 days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government was scrapping the laws that ran afoul of farmer groups.
The presidential nod to the Farm Laws Repeal Act, 2021 means that the three farm laws stand scrapped now.
The bill to repeal the laws was passed by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on November 29, the first day of the winter session of Parliament.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 triggered widespread protest since November 2020.
Also Read | A timeline of farmers' protest as PM Modi repeals three farm laws
As the agitation neared its first anniversary, Modi in a live televised address on November 19 announced repeal of the farm laws.
"Today, while apologising to the countrymen, I want to say with a sincere and pure heart that perhaps there must have been some deficiency in our efforts, due to which we could not explain the truth like the light of the lamp to some farmers," Modi said.
The Opposition linked the decision to the upcoming assembly elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
The Prime Minister also appealed to the farmers, largely drawn from Punjab, parts of Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, camping along Delhi’s borders to return to their villages.
The farmer unions leading the stir, however, have said their agitation would only end only after their remaining demands, including a law mandating minimum support prices (MSP), were addressed.
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