Punjab farmer leaders urge Centre to reply to their demands in today's winter session

New Delhi: Farmer leaders from Punjab who termed the repeal of farm laws as the first major victory of the farmers' movement, has urged the Centre to decide on their other demands, including legal guarantee of minimum support price for crops in the winter session on Tuesday.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), in a statement noted that history has been made in India when the anti-farmer central farm laws got repealed in the session that began on Monday.

"However, the development was marred by the fact that there was no debate allowed on the Bill tabled to repeal the three laws," it said.

The SKM, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions, argued that there was no discussion on the Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021 when it was passed in both Houses of Parliament on Monday.

The farmer's body further demanded that a committee be formed on the legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

The SKM also demanded compensation for farmers who died during the movement and urged for a reply to their demands in Parliament during the next session.

They also said that the SKM has called an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the future course of action.

The Bill to repeal the three contentious agricultural laws, against which farmers have been protesting for over a year, was passed within minutes of its introduction in both the Houses of Parliament on the first day of the winter session on Monday.

Meanwhile, celebrations broke out at protest sites at three borders of Delhi - Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri - as farmers danced to the tunes of Bhangra and Punjabi songs.

At Singhu, the protesters showered flower petals at each other to celebrate the "victory of the movement".

"On another demand related to withdrawal of cases filed against protesting farmers, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar indicated that he will do as per the Centre's instructions. This vindicates what SKM has been saying," the SKM statement said on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 19 announced that the three farm legislations would be repealed.

The three laws are Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.

The repeal of the three legislations had been one of the key demands of around 40 farmer unions protesting at various Delhi border points since November 26, 2020.