Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers reject proposal to put laws on hold

Protesting farm unions on Thursday rejected the Centre’s proposal to suspend the three farm reform laws for one-and-a-half years. They intend to continue their agitation until the laws are repealed, and a law guaranteeing minimum support price for crops is enacted. The decision was taken after a five-hour meeting of the full general body of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a joint front representing about 500 protesting groups, at the Singhu protest site on the Delhi-Haryana border in the evening. The unions will inform the government of their decision at the 11th round of talks with Central Ministers on Friday. Later in the evening, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar met Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence. Keeping up the pressure, the unions reiterated their plan to conduct a tractor parade inside the capital on Republic Day, despite the police opposing it. “In the meeting held with the police officials [on Thursday morning], the police requested not to conduct the parade in Delhi, while the farmers restated their plan about doing the parade on the Outer Ring Road,” the Morcha said in a statement. Noting that 147 farmers have died during the protest so far, the Morcha said “their sacrifice will not go in vain and we will not go back without the repealing of these farm laws”. In a parallel process, the Supreme Court-appointed committee started its hearings on Thursday, reaching out to 10 farmer groups in eight States via videoconference.

The Hindu

2021-01-22

NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH