‘Battle Won’: Farmers Agree to End Year-Long Agitation; Will Vacate Delhi Borders on December 11

The farmers’ protest over the three contentious farm laws, which have now been repealed, will finally come to an end. BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said that farmers will vacate all borders around Delhi from December 11, and will leave for their homes, thus bringing down the curtains on a year-long agitation at the national capital’s borders.

Issuing a press statement, the SKM said on Twitter, “SKM formally announces the lifting of the morchas at Delhi Borders on national highways and various other locations in response – Current agitation stands suspended – Battle has been won; the war to ensure farmers’ rights, will continue.”

The development comes a day after the farmers accepted a second draft proposal from the government, which includes assurances on MSP and withdrawal of police cases. “We have accepted the revised draft given by the Centre over our demands in regard to farmers’ agitation against three farm laws,” farmer leader Gurnam Singh Charuni said on Wednesday.

In a mega outreach, the government has decided to accept all the demands of the protesters. These include withdrawal of all the agitation-related cases registered during this protest in all states/ UTs and central government agencies; compensation to all the families of the agitating farmers who died during the course of agitation; no criminal liability of the farmers in case of stubble burning; government to discuss electricity amendment bill with SKM/ farmers before discussing it in Parliament; committee on MSP formed in which SKM will list out its members; and ongoing MSP in the country and procurement will continue as it is.

Earlier on Wednesday, a panel of five senior farmer-leaders met in Delhi to discuss a fresh proposal offered by the government, which included assurances that police cases against thousands of farmers – in connection with the farm laws agitations and over stubble burning – will be immediately suspended.

In an earlier offer on Tuesday, the government proposed that farmers call off their protest before the police cases were dropped – something the farmers indicated they were reluctant to do.

On the question of the constitution of the MSP committee, the farmers have emphasised only members of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (in addition to officials from the centre, concerned states and agricultural experts) can be chosen.

When Prime Minister Modi last month offered farmers an “apology” and said the farm laws would be scrapped, farmers rejoiced but underlined their determination to continue protests till the MSP issue was resolved.

Farmers from Haryana, Punjab and some parts of Uttar Pradesh have been camped at Delhi borders for over a year now, demanding that the government withdraw the three laws — The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020.

The Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of the three laws in January this year, but farmer unions haven’t budged from protest sites like Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur at the Delhi border. The Centre, which had held 11 rounds of formal dialogues with the farmers, had maintained that the new laws are pro-farmer, while protesters claimed they would be left at the mercy of corporations. Finally, the laws were repealed.

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