Celebrations by farmers at one of the protest sites on Ferozepur Road in Ludhiana after the farm laws were repealed on Friday. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh) Punjab’s Agriculture Minister, Randeep Singh Nabha, on Friday termed the announcement of repeal of the three farm laws as a victory for the country, while claiming “pride came before a fall”.
Nabha stated that the Narinder Modi-led government should have taken this decision a long time ago. But the Centre, instead, stuck to its stand and continued with its stubborn attitude. He said that the hardships faced by the country’s farmers were laudable and it was the hardships these sacrifices by the protesters that made the world’s biggest ever farm protest a great success, and forced the Union government to scrap the three dubious laws.
The Minister said that the Centre’s decision was also commendable as they made the announcement of repealing the farm laws on the pious day of Guru Nanak Jayanti.
Nabha urged the Centre to rehabilitate the families of those who had lost their near and dear ones in the agitation against the “black farm laws” as well as provide compensation for the families of farmers who died during the agitation.
Terming it as a much delayed but welcome step, the Agriculture Minister mentioned that the Centre was adamant on the issue but finally seems to have understood the real sentiments of farmers.
“More than 700 of our farmer brothers and sisters have lost their lives during the agitation to get these laws abolished and their sacrifices will always be remembered as the thing which finally led to repeal these draconian anti-farmer legislations,” Nabha said.
These laws were completely irrelevant and out of sync with farmers’ aspirations, Nabha said, adding that Centre should have taken farming decisions, which safeguard the interest of the country’s peasantry.
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