The Centre urged farmer union leaders to consider proposals sent to them (File)
New Delhi:
The farmers who have been agitating for the past two weeks against the new agriculture laws on Thursday announced that they will block railway tracks if their demands are fulfilled by the government.
The farmer unions, which held a meeting on Thursday, said they will soon announce a date for blocking tracks across the country.
Addressing reporters at Delhi’s Singhu border, where they have been protesting for almost two weeks to demand a rollback of the laws, the farmer unions also reiterated that they will intensify their agitation and start blocking all highways leading to the national capital.
“We will block railway tracks if our demands are not met. We will decide on the date and announce it soon. The blocking of tracks will not be limited to Haryana and Punjab but it will be done across the country,” farmer leader Boota Singh said at the press conference.
The announcement by farmers came on the day Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said it was not proper to announce the next stage of agitation when talks were continuing and urged the unions to return to the discussion table.
Mr Tomar also urged farmer union leaders to consider proposals sent to them to break the deadlock.
“The Centre has admitted that laws have been made for traders. If agriculture is a state subject, the central government does not have right to make laws on it,” said Balbir Singh Rajewal, another leader.
Thousands of farmers have been protesting at various border points for almost two weeks seeking a repeal of the new laws, which they claim were aimed at benefitting corporates by weakening the mandi system.
