Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers' protest: ‘Open to talks, let Centre get ready to repeal laws’

BATHINDA: Punjab farmer unions protesting against central farm laws, announced that they have not closed doors for talks but the central government must come up for a proposal to repeal the three laws and they will hold talks. However, the protests at Delhi borders will continue till then, they added. The farm unions have also prepared a strategy to implement toll-free Saturday across the country and to block the Delhi-Jaipur highway. The farmer organisations, in the meanwhile, have made it clear that they have no plans to block railway traffic anywhere. However, the 30 farm organisations have distanced themselves from BKU (Ekta Ugrahan)’s use of photos of those facing UAPA and Delhi riot cases during a protest at the border on Thursday. “The farm organisations are still open for talks with the Union government but it should be open for repealing the laws which are not liked by the farmers. Whenever the government will call us after it is ready for repealing laws we will go for talks,” farm leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said on Friday evening. Reacting to Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar again asking farmers to lift the protests as Modi government was ready to clear all the objections raised by them on any clause in any of the three laws, Rajewal reiterated they only want the laws to be repealed and till then the protest would continue unabated. “Farmers do not fear cases being registered for violation of Covid protocols as they keep on facing many cases,” he said and added that no farmer would go from Singhu border to block the Delhi-Jaipur highway on Saturday. The farmers from Rajasthan or those near the highway will block it, he said. The farmers and like-minded organisations will support the call of making the country toll-free on Saturday and the protests will be held at deputy commissioner’s offices and Reliance group malls on December 14.

The Times of India

2020-12-12

Amritsar