Anna Hazare threatens to launch his "last protest" for farmers

    Pune, Dec 28 (PTI) Social activist Anna Hazare has
threatened to go on a hunger strike if his demands on issues
concerning farmers are not met by the Union government by the
end of January next year, and said it would be his "last
protest".
    Speaking to reporters in his Ralegaon Siddhi village
in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra on Sunday, Hazare said
had had been holding protests for cultivators since the last
three years, but the government has done nothing to resolve
the issues.
    "The government is just giving empty promises due to
which I do not have any trust left (in the government)...Let's
see, what action the Centre takes on my demands. They have
sought time for a month, so I have given them time till
January-end. If my demands are not met, I will resume my huger
strike protest. This would be my last protest," the
83-year-old said.
    On December 14, Hazare wrote a letter to Union
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar warning of a hunger
strike if his demands like the implementation of the MS
Swaminathan Committee's recommendations and granting autonomy
to the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP),
were not accepted.
    Senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra Assembly
Speaker Haribhau Bagade recently met Hazare to explain him the
details of the three farm laws introduced by the Centre.
    Hazare observed a fast on December 8 in support of the
Bharat Bandh called by farmer organisations demanding a repeal
of the agri laws.
    Farmers have been protesting at borders of Delhi for
over a month against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection)
Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, the
Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and
Facilitation) Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities
(Amendment) Act, 2020.
     The three farm laws, enacted in September, have been
projected by the government as major reforms in the
agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow
farmers to sell anywhere in the country.
    However, the protesting tillers have expressed
apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for
eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do
away with the mandis, leaving them at the mercy of big
corporates. The Centre has repeatedly asserted that these
mechanisms will remain. PTI SPK
NSK NSK

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)