Farmers protesting the centre’s new farm laws held two meetings between themselves today
New Delhi:
Farmers protesting the controversial new farm laws today warned the centre against trying to sow discord in their ranks and stressed that, contrary to the narrative some members of the ruling BJP are pushing, their campaign was not limited to farmers from Punjab. The farmers also said their protests would continue unless the centre recalled the “black” laws and said a special session of Parliament should be convened to do just that. The statements come after two meetings between various farmer unions ahead of a fourth round of talks with the centre tomorrow. The farmers’ protest has seen thousands camped out in and around Delhi and threatening to cut off road access to the national capital unless their voices are heard and concerns addressed.
Here are the top 10 updates on farmers’ protest:
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“The government tried to show this is only the movement of farmers in Punjab. The government tried to divide us,” Dr Darshan Pal, President of the Krantikari Kisan Union, told reporters at Singhu on the Delhi-Haryana border. “We will continue our agitation till all three farm laws are repealed. The centre should call a special session of Parliament to repeal the new farm laws,” he added.
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“We have also decided that farmer leaders from all over the country, not just Punjab, should be called for talks. On December 5 we will conduct a nationwide protest and burn effigies of the Narendra Modi government and corporate houses,” Dr Pal said, adding that two days later sportspersons and athletes from Punjab who had received national awards would return these as a sign of protest.
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“We’ll burn effigies in every district of Maharashtra tomorrow and on December 5 in Gujarat to protest . Tomorrow is the last chance for the government to take a decision to repeal the laws, otherwise this movement will become huge and the government will fall,” Pratibha Shinde of the Lok Sangharsh Morcha, was quoted by news agency ANI.
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Shortly afterwards Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar appealed to farmers to continue with the discussions. “Let’s see to what extent issues can be resolved… the laws are in their interest and the reforms have been done after a long wait, but if they have any objection to it then we are ready to address their concerns,” Mr Tomar said.
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Earlier today 32 farmers’ groups met at Singhu after the centre asked for written details of “specific issues” related to the Farm Reforms Acts. At a press conference afterwards the farmers pointed out that a “clause-wise” list of objections had been submitted to the centre in October. “But tomorrow, it will be given in writing again,” a farmer leader said.
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After the first meeting the farmers, who have been protesting for over three months now, appeared disillusioned with the centre’s response. “Going by yesterday’s meeting, we don’t think the government is in a mood to withdraw the laws. The government wants farmers to fight among themselves,” one leader said.
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On Tuesday, after a first meeting with union ministers since thousands of farmers marched to Delhi last week, a re-pitched proposal by the centre to form a five-member committee to take talks forward was shot down. The farmers told the centre that such efforts had failed in the past and “now is not the time for committees”.
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The meeting – in which Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and junior industry minister Som Parkash participated – yielded no breakthrough, much like the two earlier ones. Sources have said the government is unlikely to recall the laws, making it necessary for the two sides to reach a compromise of some sort for the protest to end.
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Thousands of farmers are camped out at five spots around Delhi, with trailers packed with food, water, medicines and essential goods, underlining their resolve to see this protest through. Thousands more are expected to join; a Maharashtra farmers’ union called for a state-wide stir on Thursday and farmers from BJP-ruled UP have also spoken out.
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The protests have, unfortunately, once again inconvenienced people looking to travel to or from Delhi, with major roads blocked. A key route in east Delhi, for example, which links to Noida in Uttar Pradesh, has been closed after 300 farmers staged a sit-in. This afternoon police removed some barricades to facilitate movement of traffic.
With input from ANI
