New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise announcement to repeal the three contentious Central farm laws in his address to the nation on Friday was seen as "victory of farmers" by the Opposition leaders. Minutes after PM's broadcast to the nation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that farmers' 'Satyagraha' forced arrogance to bow its head. Congratulating the farmers of the country, the Congress leader tweeted in Hindi, "With their satyagraha, annadata of the country made arrogance bow its head. Congratulations on this victory against injustice."
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi termed farmers' protest as "Gandhian agitation" and said that it is a victory of the "willpower" and "struggle" of 62 crore farmers. She further hoped that the Centre draws lessons for the future and "shed its pride and arrogance" and work towards policies for farmers' welfare.
"After almost 12 months of Gandhian agitation, today the struggle and willpower of 62 crore farmers of the country have won. Today, the sacrifices of more than 700 farmer families have paid off, whose families have laid down their lives in this struggle for justice. Today truth, justice, and non-violence have won," Sonia Gandhi said in an official statement.
Similarly, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated farmers for their relentless fight against three farm laws and said they were not fazed by the "cruelty" of the BJP.
"My heartfelt congratulations to every single farmer who fought relentlessly and were not fazed by the cruelty with which @BJP4India treated you. This is YOUR VICTORY! My deepest condolences to everyone who lost their loved ones in this fight. #FarmLaws," Banerjee tweeted.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that the announcement of repealing the three farm laws is a victory of democracy and "defeat" of the arrogance of the Centre.
Welcoming the Centre's decision of repealing the three contentious farm laws, the Shiv Sena and the NCP, which share power in Maharashtra said the government had to finally bow down before the agitating farmers.
Reacting to the development, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, "For the first time the 'mann ki baat' of people has come out PM Modi's mouth. BJP leaders were openly calling these farmers Khalistanis and Pakistanis, but the Union government had to bend before the farmers' pressure."
Welcoming the decision, NCP president Sharad Pawar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the step because farmers will ask him questions during the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.
"The BJP government at the Centre passed these laws in a few hours. We insisted on a discussion, but the government did not listen. Agriculture is the soul of the country. We also said that if we want to make laws, we should sit together, this is not a political issue; but they did not listen. These laws were repealed as farmers will ask questions in the UP, Haryana, Punjab elections," said Pawar.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday welcomed the government's announcement to repeal the contentious farm laws, saying the "sacrifice" of farmers who died protesting against them will remain immortal.
Calling the Centre's decision to repeal the farm laws as a "great victory for the farmers and the Congress", senior party leader P Chidambaram on Friday took a dig at the government, saying that the move was not inspired by a change of heart but impelled by "fear of elections". "What cannot be achieved by democratic protests can be achieved by the fear of impending elections!" Chidambaram tweeted.
SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal termed the PM's announcement of repeal of farm laws as a historic victory of farmers on Gurupurab, defining moment in history.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel congratulated farmers for "pressuring" the Centre to withdraw the three contentious farm laws and described the government's announcement as a victory not only for farmers but also for democracy over injustice.
"The Gandhian movement has once again shown its strength. Congratulations to the farmers of the country for pressuring the Central government to withdraw the three black laws. This is the victory of not only farmers but also of democracy against injustice," Baghel tweeted in Hindi.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren called for the resignation of Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, after the PM announced the repeal of farm laws. "We demand that the Prime Minister should immediately give compensation of 5 crore rupees to the farmers killed in this movement and give them martyr status. Give jobs to the family member of the deceased farmers. The FIRs against them, the cases are pending in the court, they should be withdrawn immediately," said Soren in a Tweet.
Thanking Prime Minister, Yogi Adityanath said, "We know how farmer unions were protesting against the three farm laws. On the occasion of Gurpurab, PM Modi has made a historic decision to repeal the farm laws. I welcome the decision with all my heart. From the very beginning, there was a large group of people who believed that farm laws could pave the way towards increasing the farmer’s income.”
He further added, “Keeping up with the spirit of democracy, the decision was made to repeal the farm laws. We welcome the decision for constituting a committee to look into the Minimum Support Price (MSP) issue.”
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the government had agreed to repeal the three farm laws only because it had understood that they would face reverses in the upcoming elections. "After 600-700 farmers died during the year-long agitation, the Prime Minister is now apologizing for the laws but he has not uttered a word about martyred farmers... We will have to understand that the government decided to change its decision only after recent surveys showed that it was slipping," she said.
Reacting to PM's announcement of deciding to scrap all three new farm laws, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav said, “Those who are apologising will not be forgiven. Farm laws withdrawal is a deception aimed at the elections. The entire government must resign."
Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain (retired) Amarinder Singh said that nothing could be bigger than repealing the three farm laws and apologizing to the farmers on the occasion of Prakash Parv by PM Modi today. "On Prakash Parv PM Modi took the decision to repeal the three Farm Laws and apologized to the farmers. There can be nothing bigger than this. I'm thankful to Prime Minister and Home Minister for this, nobody can do anything more than this," Singh told media persons. "This is the victory of peaceful struggle," he added.
