Farmers Movement Archive

Centre turns to SC as talks with farmers fail

Farmer leaders said policy issues should not be decided by the court, which is only examining the constitutional validity of the laws. “It's a sad day for democracy when an elected government in the middle of talks takes resort in the Supreme Court and says that we should fall back on the Court,” said Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch leader Kavitha Kuruganti. “This is a matter of the livelihoods of millions of farmers. It is a policy decision which should be taken in consultation with farmers.” “No matter what the decision of the court is, if it is against farmers, we will not accept it. We will go to jail if needed. These laws are a death knell for farmers,” said Hannan Mollah of the All India Kisan Sabha. The meeting got off to a tense start, with the Centre saying it cannot and will not repeal the three laws, as it needs to look at the interests of the whole country, including other farmers groups which support the laws. Mr. Tomar blamed the unions for their failure to come up with any alternative proposal apart from repeal. At this point, Balbir Singh Rajewal who heads his own faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, raised his voice, accusing the government of being adamant. Union leaders vowed that they would not return home until the laws were repealed, repeating slogans such as, “ Ya jitenge, ya marenge” ( We will win or die in the attempt), and thumping their desks. The farmers refused to budge from the conference room while the government delegation left for an hour-long break. “I do not have any hope for the next meeting. The government is only repeating the same thing, they are not listening to us at all. But we will not be responsible for the breakdown of talks. That is why we will come back on January 15,” said Gurnam Singh Chadhuni, who heads a Haryana faction of the BKU. “We will all come into Delhi with our tractors on Republic Day. Perhaps they will listen to us then.”

The Hindu

2021-01-09

January 09 2021 00:00 IST