New Delhi: As the government on Friday took a massive U-turn and announced to repeal the three contentious farm laws, noted agriculture economist Vijay Sardana said that the decision to withdraw the laws is victory of evil over good.
A staunch supporter of the agricultural reforms and the three farm laws, Sardana said that the three farm laws were excellent but some selfish people created such a political environment that government came under pressure.
"Farmers have gained nothing from the repeal of farm laws. Anyway, status quo has been maintained. They gained nothing but lost so many things," he said.
Asked if the content of the fresh farm laws would be same as the previous ones, Sardana responded in affirmation saying, "That would be the logical thing to do. What else would you would write in the law."
He said that the laws were brought to improve the economic conditions of the farmers and unshackle them from the grip of middlemen and agents.
"But a section of the farmers resorted to violence and aggression and worked against the interest of majority of farmers," Sardana said.
The three farm laws were passed by the Parliament last year triggering strong protests from farmers especially from Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. The farmers claimed that the laws had been brought to slowly and gradually scrap the system of minimum support price (MSP).
They also argued that the three laws would corporatise the agriculture sector and small farmers would eventually become a sharecropper.
In his televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced to withdraw three contentious farm laws and appealed the protesting farmers to return to their homes.
He said that the constitutional process to repeal the three farm laws would be completed in the Parliament session scheduled to commence from this month-end.
Modi said that the three laws were brought in the interest of farmers especially small and marginal farmers.
"But despite our best of the efforts we could not make this sacred thing, completely pure and the one in the interest of them we could not convince a section of farmers. Agriculture economists, scientists and progressive farmers also tried their best to make them understand but to no avail," PM Modi said.
The three farm laws which would be scrapped are Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.
While Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act gives farmers freedom of choice for selling their produce across the country, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act provides framework for contract farming.
Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act removes commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from the list of essential commodities. As a result, traders and private firms can stock foodgrains without any limit. (UNI)