Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday congratulated farmers for their relentless fight against three new farm laws and said they were not fazed by the "cruelty" of the BJP.
Banerjee's comment came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government has decided to repeal the three farm laws, which were at the centre of protests by farmers for the past year.
"My heartfelt congratulations to every single farmer who fought relentlessly and were not fazed by the cruelty with which @BJP4India treated you. This is YOUR VICTORY! My deepest condolences to everyone who lost their loved ones in this fight. #FarmLaws," Banerjee wrote on Twitter.
Many farmers had been protesting and were encamped at Delhi's borders since November 2020 with a demand that the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee minimum support price for crops.
TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said "farmers' long and arduous struggle, their grit and determination against all adversities has shown the BJP their true place".
"More power to all our FARMERS! This is the real POWER OF DISSENT in a Democracy and I salute each and every farmer for their courage. #MyIndia," he said on Twitter.
Senior TMC leader Sougata Roy said the Modi government was forced to withdraw the farm laws due to the relentless protests by the farmers and had to bow down before them.
"The Centre showed arrogance and was adamant about the farm laws. It seems the government is feeling threatened by the public resentment over these acts. Maybe with an eye on assembly polls in some states next year, it decided to repeal these laws," he said.
The West Bengal CPI(M) also congratulated farmers for their fight and said it was a victory of a united movement led by Samyukta Kisan Morcha.
"CPI(M) congratulates and extends its warm greetings to SKM and lakhs of fighting Kisans. Huge victory for united Kisan movement led by SKM. The People United Shall Always Be Victorious," the party wrote on the microblogging site.
CPI (M) state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra on Friday demanded that the West Bengal government should amend a law that was passed in the assembly a few years back.
"We convey our congratulations to the SKM, AIKSCC and all the participants and supporters of the historic Kisan movement for their magnificent victory. We demand that the CM, WB must declare that similar anti-farmer provisions in the amended WB state act shall be removed," he tweeted.
Addressing the nation on the auspicious occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti, the prime minister insisted that the three farm laws were for the benefit of farmers and then apologised to people of the country while adding that the government could not convince a section of cultivators despite its clear heart and clean conscience.
