Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi Friday evening reacted to the decision of the Centre to repeal the three contentious farm laws and said that the Narendra Modi government would have learned a lesson from the issue.

Calling the announcement a victory of annadatas or farmers, Gandhi said any government in a democratic setup should take a decision only after talking to the stakeholders. She also described the announcement as a defeat of the arrogance of those in power.

Here’s what Sonia Gandhi said on the withdrawal of the farm laws:

“Today, the sacrifices of more than 700 farmer families, whose members laid down their lives in this struggle for justice, have paid off. Today, truth, justice and non-violence have won.

“Today, the conspiracy hatched by those in power against farmers and labourers has lost and so has the arrogance of dictatorial rulers. Today, the conspiracy to attack livelihood and agriculture has been defeated. Today, annadatas have won.

“In a democracy, any decision should be taken after talks with every stakeholder and deliberations with the Opposition. I hope the Modi government has at least learned something for the future.”

Earlier today, PM Modi addressed the nation on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sikh guru Guru Nanak Dev and announced the big decision.

The PM said his government has decided to withdraw the three farm laws and the same would be done constitutionally when Parliament meets for the Winter Session later this month.

The Congress party has, meanwhile, decided to observe ‘Kisan Vijay Diwas’ on Saturday (November 20) following the government’s announcement on farm laws. The main opposition party will hold rallies across the country tomorrow to celebrate the announcement on repealing of the farm laws.

The party said ‘Kisan Vijay Diwas’ will be observed “in recognition of consistent and spirited fight of the farmers against the flawed decisions”. It has asked its state units to organise Kisan Vijay Rallies or Kisan Vijay Sabhas.