Farmers Protest: Union Govt issues 'formal letter' accepting farmers' demands

New Delhi: The Union government on Thursday sent a formal letter to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) agreeing to accept their pending demands and prompting the farmers' body to suspend their over a year long agitation.

Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Aggrawal wrote the letter to the SKM and appealed to the farmers to call off their protest.

The letter referred to the five main demands of farmers which were pending after the three contentious farm laws were repealed in Parliament last month.

It stated that the Prime Minister and later the Union Agriculture Minister have announced to form a committee on MSP which will have as its member officials from Union and state governments, representatives of farm unions, and agriculture scientists.

It has been clarified that this committee will also include members of SKM. The status quo will be maintained on procurement of crops on MSP in the country, the letter said.

The SKM, an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, on Thursday decided to suspend the farmers' movement and announced farmers will return to their homes on December 11 from the protest sites on Delhi's borders.

Farmer leaders said they will again meet on January 15 to see if the government has fulfilled their demands.

The letter also clarified that governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Haryana have agreed to withdraw cases against farmers with immediate effect.

Cases registered against farmers and supporters in Delhi and Union Territories will also be withdrawn. The central government will appeal to other state governments too to start the process to withdraw cases against protestors of the movement, the government said.

In the letter, the Centre informed farmers that Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments have given in-principal approval to provide compensation to kin of family members of farmers who died during the agitation.

It also clarified that Electricity Amendment Bill will not be tabled in Parliament until government discusses provisions impacting farmers with SKM and other stakeholders. Stubble burning has already been decriminalised, the central government letter said.

On Tuesday, the Centre had sent a proposal to the SKM but it met with a demand from the body to clarify certain points in the government's proposal, including the precondition set for the withdrawal of "fake" cases against farmers.

The Centre sent a revised proposal to the farmers' body on Wednesday.

The SKM said that it had reached a consensus on the revised draft proposal of the Union government. It, however, still demanded a formal communication from the Centre on its letterhead.

The movement was suspended on Thursday after the central government formally agreed to consider their demands.