New Delhi: Announcing an end to their over-a-year-long agitation, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) decided to call off their protest at New Delhi's borders on Thursday. Farmers will start vacating the protest sites from Saturday.
Farmer leaders said they will again meet on January 15 to see if the government has fulfilled their demands.
The announcement came after the SKM, which is spearheading the movement, received a Central government-signed letter where it agreed to consider their pending demands, including withdrawal of cases against farmers and form a committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP).
Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Aggrawal wrote the letter to the SKM and appealed to the farmers to call off their protest.
This is not the end as the movement is just suspended. We have decided to meet again on January 15, farmer leader and SKM core committee member Balbir Singh Rajewal said in a press conference.
Farmer leader and SKM member Gurnam Singh Chaduni said: "A review meeting will be convened on January 15 to see if the government met all the demands. If they do not, we can take a call on resuming the protest."
"Farmers will start vacating Delhi border points from December 11, and this may take some time," farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said.
Meanwhile, the letter from the Centre referred to the five main demands of farmers which were pending after the three contentious farm laws were repealed in Parliament last month.
It stated that the Prime Minister and later the Union Agriculture minister have announced to form a committee on MSP which will have as its member officials from Central and state governments, representatives of farm unions, and agriculture scientists.
It is being clarified that this committee will also include members of the SKM. The status quo will be maintained on procurement of crops on MSP in the country, the letter said.
The SKM, an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, on Thursday decided to suspend the farmers' movement and announced farmers will return to their homes on December 11 from the protest sites on Delhi's borders.
Farmer leaders said they will again meet on January 15 to see if the government has fulfilled their demands.
The letter also clarified that governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Haryana have agreed to withdraw cases against farmers with immediate effect.
Cases registered against farmers and supporters in Delhi and Union Territories will also be withdrawn. The Central government will appeal other state governments too to start process to withdraw cases against protesters of the movement, the Centre added.
In the letter, the Centre informed farmers that Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments have given an in-principal approval to provide compensation to kin of family members of farmers who died during the agitation.
It also clarified that Electricity Amendment Bill will not be tabled in Parliament until government discusses provisions impacting farmers with SKM and other stakeholders.
Stubble burning has already been decriminalised, the Central government letter said.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been protesting at the borders of the national Capital since November 26 last year demanding repeal of the three farm laws.
On November 29, a Bill was passed in Parliament to repeal the contentious farm laws, one of the main demands of the protesting farmers.
But the stalemate continued with the protesters demanding that the government fulfil their other demands that included a legal guarantee on the Minimum Support Price and withdrawal of cases against farmers.
On Tuesday, the Centre had sent a proposal to the SKM but it met with a demand from the body to clarify certain points in the government's proposal, including the precondition set for the withdrawal of "fake" cases against farmers.
The Centre sent a revised proposal to the farmers' body on Wednesday. The SKM said that it had reached a consensus on the revised draft proposal of the Centre.
It, however, still demanded a formal communication from the Centre on its letterhead.
The movement was suspended on Thursday after the Central government formally agreed to consider their demands.