At Singhu, farmers refuse to budge till Centre repeals laws
Item
Title
At Singhu, farmers refuse to budge till Centre repeals laws
Description
Even as two out of four issues were resolved after talks with the Centre, the farmers protesting at the Singhu border on Thursday refused to “move an inch” unless all their demands are met. Several farmers, who have been a part of the agitation for over a month now, explained that the two resolved issues were not the primary demands. They said the legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) and repealing of the three farm bills hold more importance. The Centre on Wednesday agreed to amend the ordinance on air quality in the Capital, to remove penal provisions in stubble burning cases and also withdraw the draft Electricity Bill. Harmesh Singh Dheshi, a 58-year-old farmer from Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district, said: “Considering the government didn’t call for a parliament session means that those two points would have anyway fallen through. We want a legal guarantee for MSP and to repeal the three farm bills.” Stating that the Centre was “testing” the strength and will of the farmers, Mr. Dheshi said, “Even though there is another round of negotiations on January 4, it looks highly unlikely that things would be resolved by then because of the government’s attitude. None of the laws and policies that this government has brought in, including demonetisation, GST and CAA-NRC, met with as much resistance as this movement. We shall continue this fight.” Fight for rights Ranjit Singh, a 78-year-old farmer added, “I have been here from the first day. We will not move an inch unless our demands are met. We are here to fight for our rights and till the fight is over we cannot afford to rejoice over anything.” Jagbir Singh, a farmer from Punjab’s Tarn Taran district said, “We are not going to leave the Singhu border unless the laws are repealed. Even though talks with the government on Wednesday were positive, we cannot get complacent. It is a step-by-step process that we shall follow and also remain here unless our demands are met.”
Publisher
The Hindu
Date
2021-01-01
Coverage
NEW DELHI