Welcoming the Centre's decision of repealing the three contentious farm laws, the Shiv Sena and the NCP, which share power in Maharashtra, on Friday said the government had to finally bow down before the agitating farmers.
Addressing the nation on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti on Friday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government has decided to repeal the three farm laws, which were at the centre of protests by farmers for the past year, and appealed to the protesting farmers to return home.
Reacting to the development, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, "For the first time the 'mann ki baat' of people has come out PM Modi's mouth. BJP leaders were openly calling these farmers Khalistanis and Pakistanis, but the Union government had to bend before the farmers' pressure."
"More than 400 farmers lost their lives during the protests on the borders of Delhi. Had Modi listened to our demands, many lives would have been saved. But the government was adamant and refused to listen to the farmers' issues," the Sena MP added.
Nawab Malik, chief spokesperson of the NCP said in a tweet, "Jhukati hai duniya, jhukane wala chahiye. We salute all the farmers, many of them gave their life.The three farm laws have been withdrawn."
Many farmers had been protesting and camping at Delhi's borders since November 2020 with a demand that the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee MSP for crops.