Kathmandu, November 29. The Lower house of the Indian Parliament (or, Lok Sabha) on Monday, passed the “Farm Laws Repeal Bill 2021” to cancel the three controversial farm laws. The bill will now be presented in front of the Council of States (or, Rajya Sabha).

The parliamentary move took place 10 days after Prime minister Narendra Modi apologized to the nation and announced to roll back the laws adopted by his government in September 2020.

Here are the three farm laws introduced by the Modi government:

• The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act

• The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act

• The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act. 

Despite the government’s claims that these farm laws will cut out middlemen and help farmers make more money, farmers who contribute 15% of the country’s GDP argued that the laws will result in the scrapping of the minimum support price (MSP) – the price at which the government purchases farm produce – and leave farmers at the mercy of corporate dealers. 

Agitated by the new laws passed, more than a million farmers have regularly participated in the mass protests “Samyukt Kisan Morcha” since November last year. According to a report by The Indian Express, more than 750 farmers died due to hypothermia, suicide, and other causes that occurred during the one-year-long protest.

Earlier in January, the Supreme Court of India suspended the controversial laws and said that ‘the government lagged behind on consulting with farmers when passing the laws.’ The court also ordered the formation of a four Agri experts panel to listen to the farmers and make recommendations.