No plans to bring back repealed farm laws again, clarifies Union Agri Minister

New Delhi: Two days after his statement in Nagpur snowballed into a controversy, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Narendra Tomar on Sunday clarified that the government has no plans to bring back the recently repealed farm laws and urged farmers to be wary of "confusion" being created by the Congress on this issue.

Tomar, in a statement, said the three agriculture reforms laws were brought for the welfare of farmers. However, due to the farmers' protest in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to withdraw these laws.

The minister also mentioned that his statements on this issue were made during his address (at an Agri event at Nagpur, Maharashtra) however, been misinterpreted and said his intention was not that is being shown.

"I had said (at that event) we have taken a step back on the farm laws but the government will always move ahead to work towards the welfare of the farmers. Therefore there should not be any misunderstanding on this issue and the government has no intention to bring back the farm laws again," Tomar said.

The minister also hit out at the Congress party for indulging in "a negative work of spreading confusion to cover up its failures" and said farmers should be beware of this.

Stating that the Swaminathan Committee report was submitted in 2006 but the then Congress government sat on the report instead of implementing the recommendations therein, Tomar said, "Under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, we have implemented the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee."

He also recounted the various steps taken by the Modi government over the last seven years to bring in farm sector reforms. "Farmers are being empowered through the payment of Rs 6,000. The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Bima Yojana has come as a boon for the farmers facing losses due to natural disasters. The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund worth Rs one lakh crore and 10,000 farmer producers companies (FPOs) have led to innovations in the farm sector."

In his address to the nation on November 19, Modi had announced the withdrawal of the three controversial farm laws in a bid to end a year-long massive protest by farmers at the borders of the national capital.

These laws were passed in Parliament in September 2020 but the Supreme Court had stayed their roll out in March 2021 and finally were repealed on November 29 by passing a bill due to mounting pressure from protesting farmers.

The three laws were: The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.