Protest will be withdrawn only after laws repealed in Parl: Tikait

Ghaziabad/Palghar: Celebrations broke out across India soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced repealing the farm laws. The farmers welcomed the announcement of the repeal of the laws, which had pitted them and the government against each other through 12 months of dogged protests and 11 rounds of talks, but made it clear it may not be enough.

Distributing sweets and dancing to songs blaring out of music systems placed on tractors, farmers, who have been camping at the Singhu border for nearly a year, were a happy lot on Friday.

The umbrella body of 40 farmer unions, Samyukta Kisan Morcha's(SKM), said their agitation was not just against the repeal of the three black laws but also for a statutory guarantee to remunerative prices for all agricultural produce.

This important demand of farmers is still pending," it said, clarifying that it would wait for the announcement to take effect through due parliamentary procedures. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said the ongoing anti-farm laws protest will be withdrawn only after the three contentious legislations are repealed in Parliament and legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) for crops made.

The influential farmer leader from western Uttar Pradesh also asked supporters not to engage in celebrations as their "struggle" will continue.

Tikait, who was in Maharashtra's Palghar for an event on Friday, took to Twitter soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced repealing the three farm laws, which were at the centre of the farmers' protest since November 26 last year.

"The protest will not be withdrawn immediately; we will wait for the day when the farm laws are repealed in Parliament. Along with MSP, the government should talk to farmers on other issues too," Tikait tweeted in Hindi.

"The farmers are not going back home without this... Where we are today (Palghar), crops are not bought at MSP. The issue of MSP is one that affects entire country," the BKU national spokesperson said.

He also asked people not to celebrate or distribute sweets now as the "struggle" has to continue.

"Today we have a meeting of our nine-member team of Samyukt Kisan Morcha scheduled at the Singhu border head office. The final decision will be taken there," Tikait said.