Occasionally the weak show Modi bowed to Indian farmers

New Delhi – Narendra Modi has dominated politics in India for seven years. The Prime Minister, who has the support of the people and the support of many in the parliament, has pushed for a dramatic and sometimes harmful policy. His government has been using increasingly sophisticated tactics to silence critics by backing a Hindu-oriented nationalist agenda, much less effective.

On Friday, with a rare retreat, Mr. Modi did not suddenly appear superior.

Mr Modi said his government would repeal three agricultural laws aimed at reforming the country’s agricultural sector.

In a televised address, the government said: “The process will begin this month. I urge protesting farmers to return to their families, and let’s start again.

Mr Modi announced the announcement on behalf of Sik Guru Nanak Jianti in support of the Indian minority Sikh community.

“I apologize to my countrymen today and say with all my heart and soul that there may be some shortcomings,” he said.

The speech shocked Mr Modi, who did not criticize Indians who are accustomed to being a muscle leader. However, he acknowledged that his position was weakened by a series of catastrophic reactions to the second wave of cholera virus and the struggling economy.

A.D. “Modi’s image as a strong, meaningless prime minister is in big trouble,” said Yashwant Sinha, a former finance minister who resigned from Mr Modi’s party in 2018.

Some polls suggest that Mr Modi is likely to be popular and that unorganized dissidents will lose power.

In May, however, his Baratia Janata Party suffered a landslide victory in what he described as a landslide victory in West Bengal. BJP The BJP leadership is weak in Uttar Pradesh – a state that is seen as a bell for the national election and will hold elections early next year.

The weakening of some may be the result of the farmer’s opposition. After more than a dozen rounds of unsuccessful negotiations, the farmers changed tactics this fall as Mr Modi’s government launched a major campaign in Uttar Pradesh and North India.

During a similar clash in October, four protesters, including a local journalist, were killed along with four others by a group of BJP convoys protesting farmers. Modi’s son is one of the ministers under investigation.

Opposition politician and former prime minister of Uttar Pradesh has since staged a series of rallies in protest of the BJP leadership.

“The rich BJP wanted to defraud the poor and farmers through land grabbing and these black laws,” Mr Yadav said. On Twitter On Friday.

According to Gills Vernier, a professor of political science at the University of Ashoka, Modi’s resignation is a blow to Indian democracy. With the opposition divided and the widespread support of Mr Modi, his government has cracked down on political dissent and has cracked down on online and news criticism, prompting the government to respond.

“This shows that even if the government repeals these laws for election reasons, elections will still serve as a formal mechanism to control governments,” Mr Vernier said. It also shows that more tangible aspects of democratic participation, such as public protests, can be achieved.

“This is good news for democracy in India,” he said.

Mr. Modi and the BJP have been under pressure in the past, but most of the time they have not been able to cope. A.D. In the last major setback in 2015, the government abandoned plans to improve agricultural land sales during protests.

A year later, Mr Modi was caught red-handed after a stumbling block by small businesses was thwarted by a government crackdown. And In 2019, there were nationwide protests against Islam, which provides the fastest way for foreigners of all major religions in South Asia other than Islam.

But the party has recently stumbled, especially in a country where the people have aspirations and dream of competing economically on the world stage.

India’s economy has been hit hard by Mr Modi’s sudden national lockdown in March 2020 to fight coronavirus. After the first wave ended, the government paid close attention to the second wave, which filled hospitals and corpses.

After Modi’s government recovered from a massive vaccination program, the epidemic killed an unknown number of people and left millions homeless.

Against that background, Mr. Modi became more vulnerable to the protesting peasants – a strong and well-organized group.

Economists generally agree that India’s agricultural sector needs to be improved. Her farms are overcrowded or exported in Shiloh by over-producing some crops, and people are suffering from malnutrition elsewhere in India.

Mr Modi’s government has argued that the new rules would bring more than 60 percent of the population to private investment. But the farmers, already struggling with high debt burden and losses, feared that government regulations would not be pardoned by corporate giants. After the BJP quickly passed the rules, their suspicions increased.

Opposition farmers have been living in tents outside New Delhi for more than a year. In January, Mr. Modi watched a military parade in the city to mark a national holiday, with farmers passing tractors and a police officer dead and others injured.

The farmers did not allow any agreement other than repeal. Last winter’s devastating winter, summer heat and the second wave of the CV-19, which caused severe damage in New Delhi, remained in their tents. Their campgrounds are similar to small towns, with community kitchens, laundry rooms, and even gymnasiums for volunteers.

As of Friday, Mr Modi and his supporters had been categorizing farmers and separatists as service to opposition parties and without knowing how the agricultural reform would benefit them.

“The government should have eaten a humble cake,” said Prattap Bhanu Mehta, a senior fellow at the Center for Policy Studies in New Delhi.

India’s Minister of Agriculture, Narendra Singh Tommar, on Friday, while still defending the rules, said Mr Modi had a “clear intention” to change agriculture. “I’m sorry we could not convince some of the country’s farmers about the benefits of these laws,” he said.

Protesters welcomed Mr Modi’s change on Friday, and planned to meet at a rally in New Delhi to discuss further steps.

“I’m very happy,” said Ramandip Singh Mann, a farmer and activist. “As you conquered Mount Everest!” he said.

Mr Man said what was unclear was whether the government would agree to another law that would ensure farmers’ basic needs: low prices for grain. Mr Tommar said the government would set up a committee to look into the matter.

For now, Mr. Mann said, farmers will continue to besiege the New Delhi border until parliament officially repeals the three laws.

“We’ll be there until that day,” he said.

In another protest outside the capital, Gazipur, the ceremony was won. Some farmers fired fireworks, while others distributed sweets. Community kitchens, which have been feeding dissidents for more than a year, offer traditional rice, bread and chicken curry.

“There is no trust in this government, there is no trust in this government,” said Om Pal Singh Malik, the leader of the opposition at the Gazpur station. “If so, why not call a parliamentary session now?”

One of the protesters killed in Uttar Pradesh last month, his father, Nakshtra Singh, 54, said Jagdip Singh, the ouster, served as a pretext for those who died during a year of difficult protests – exposure to high temperatures, heart attacks, covide-19 or more. According to one farm official, some 750 protesters were killed. (The government says it has no information on the matter.)

“This is a victory for all those farmers who have sacrificed their lives to save hundreds of thousands of poor farmers from corporate greed,” Mr Sing said. “They must be smiling everywhere.”

Mujib Mashal Contributing Reporting.