In the latest and last move, Social Activist Anna Hazare, on Sunday, 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. He also said that it would be his “last protest”. He 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. 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 hunger strike protest. This would be my last protest,” the social activist said.
Hazare observed a fast on December 8 in support of the Bharat Bandh called by farmer organisations demanding a repeal of the agri-laws.
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.
The farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and several other states are protesting since November 26 at the borders of Delhi against three farm laws passed by the Center in the month of September. The acts have been described as “anti-farmer laws” by many farmer unions, and politicians from the opposition also say it would leave farmers at the “mercy of corporates.”