Anna Hazare calls off hunger strike over farm laws, says govt decided to increase MSP
Pune/IBNS: Veteran social activist Anna Hazare on Friday cancelled his planned hunger strike against the Centre's three contentious farm laws in the presence of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Speaking to reporters, Hazare said: "I have been doing andolan (agitation) on various issues for a long time. It is not a crime to protest peacefully...I have been raising the farmers' issue for three years... they die by suicide because they don't get the right prices for their crops...the government has decided to increase the MSP (Minimum Support Price) by 50 percent - I have got the letter."
"Since the centre decided to work on these 15 issues (his demands for farmers), I have cancelled tomorrow's fast," he added.
Earlier this month, the 83-year-old Gandhian had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating he would launch the "last hunger strike" of his life by January end.
Hazare, whose hunger strikes in the national capital in 2011 and 2012 motivated millions across the country against institutional corruption, earlier this month said he had been writing letters for permission to hold a fast over farmers' issues at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan but didn't receive a response.
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