The sudden announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrawing the three controversial agriculture laws has come as a pleasant surprise to the farmers, particularly those from North India and the opposition parties supporting their year-long agitation.
At the same time, everybody is acknowledging the power of farmers, who have not lost their courage over the last one year in continuing their agitation.
But at the same time, every political party has started claiming credit for the decision of the Prime Minister, stating that it was because of their pressure that the Centre had succumbed.
And Telangana Rashtra Samithi is no exception. The announcement by Modi repealing the farm laws comes within a day of TRS president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao staging a dharna at Indira Park and giving a threat to the Centre that he would spearhead the farmers’ agitation across the country.
So, naturally, the TRS leaders have started claiming that Modi had come down under pressure from the Telangana chief minister.
“It is purely a victory for KCR. The Prime Minister was forced to yield to the pressure of the chief minister, who warned of a nationwide agitation by the TRS,” state government whip Gongidi Sunitha said.
State agriculture minister S Niranjan Reddy also attributed Modi’s decision to the agitations taken up by the TRS and KCR.
“We shall continue our agitation till the Centre steps up procurement of paddy as well,” he said.
But it is obvious for everybody who has been watching the national politics is that Modi has withdrawn the farm laws not out of love for farmers, but because of the political compulsions in the wake of the forthcoming elections to Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
He chose Guru Nanak Jayanti day to make the announcement only to appease the farmers of Punjab in view of the next elections.
At the same time, he also extended apologies to farmers for the troubles the government had created for them because of the UP elections, where they are angry with the BJP after the Lakhimpur incident!
