Farmers suspend protest, farm leaders to hold review meet on Jan 15

Singhu Border (New Delhi) [India]: Farmers, who have been protesting against the three farm laws on different borders of Delhi since November 26 last year, announced on Wednesday that they are suspending their year-long agitation and would vacate the protest sites on December 11.

The announcement came after the protesting farmers received a letter from the Central government, with promises of forming a committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and withdrawing cases against them immediately. “As far as the matter of compensation is concerned, UP and Haryana have given in-principle consent,” it read.

While addressing a press conference, farmer leader Gurnam Singh Charuni said, “We have decided to suspend our agitation. We will hold a review meeting on Jan 15. If government does not fulfill its promises, we could resume our agitation.”

“Protesting farmers will vacate the protest sites on December 11,” another farmers’ leader Darshan Pal Singh said.

On November 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre will bring necessary bills in the Winter Session of Parliament beginning later this month to repeal the farm laws.

Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed the Farm Laws Repeal Bill on the first day of the winter session on November 29. President Ram Nath Kovind has also given his assent to the Bill that completes the process of repealing the three farm laws.

The SKM called off a planned tractor march to Parliament on November 29 and said that it would wait until December 4 for the Union government to formally respond to its demands, which it had stated in an open letter to the Prime Minister.