Cabinet likely to approve bills for withdrawal of farm laws on Nov 24

The Union Cabinet will take up and approve the withdrawal of three contentious farm laws during its next meeting on November 24, Wednesday, according to government sources. This will be days before the Winter Session of the Parliament, which will begin on November 29.

The sources also hinted that after the approval, the Cabinet is expected to discuss the introduction of a new bill during the Winter Session to repeal the three laws.

During his address to the nation on the occasion of Guru Parab on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his government's decision to withdraw the three farm bills.

The government introduced the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance, and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 during Parliament's Monsoon Session in 2020. Soon after the introduction of the laws, hundreds and thousands of farmers gathered at Delhi's border from neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for almost a year demanding the repeal of these laws.

In a meeting held earlier in the day at Delhi's Tikri border, the farmers' unions said the protests would continue along with the scheduled programmes, such as the Kisan Mahapanchayat in Lucknow on November 22 and the tractor march to Parliament on the opening day of the Winter Session on November 29.

The farmer leaders at Singhu border also said the demand for a minimum support price (MSP) committee, withdrawal of cases and the waiver of pending electricity bills will continue. "We'll write open letter to PM. Pending demands will be mentioned in it - MSP committee, its rights, it's time frame, its duties; Electricity Bill 2020 and withdrawal of cases against farmers. We'll also write to him to sack the minister related to the Lakhimpur Kheri incident," farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI following the completion of the meeting.

The letter has been prepared and released since