Just how this significant surrender of power will play at the ballot box, with elections due in Punjab and UP early next year, is the next big question
Prime Minister Narendra Modi isn’t used to backing down. So his move to repeal three contentious laws that have drawn tens of thousands of farmers to protest at the borders of the capital for over a year is significant. It’s easily the most serious political setback of his seven years in power.
Almost half of India’s 1.4 billion people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and Modi’s decision last year to abolish the decades-old system of state-run wholesale markets in favor of more private sales — without any warning or consultation with those most affected — was met with immediate fury.
Almost half of India’s 1.4 billion people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and Modi’s decision last year to abolish the decades-old system of state-run wholesale markets in favor of more private sales — without any warning or consultation with those most affected — was met with immediate fury.