Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers’ leaders upset over late invite for Delhi meet

Trichy: Hours before the Centre made a climbdown by agreeing to keep the three contentious farm laws in abeyance, the committee appointed by Supreme Court to negotiate with the farmers had invited select representatives from the delta districts also to attend its first meeting scheduled for Thursday in New Delhi. However, the farmers’ leaders were upset that they received the intimation letters only a day before the meeting that too in Hindi. The listed representatives were asked to participate in the meeting either in person or through online mode. If they could not attend by both modes they could send their opinion in writing, the letter added. Following the intimation received from the ministry of agriculture, the respective agriculture officers of each district had recommended three names of the representatives of farmers’ associations last week.It was on the basis of the list sent by the district joint director of agriculture that the representatives received emails as well as phone calls about the letter. “I received a call from a person in Chennai who identified himself as Melvin Roy, Tamil Nadu coordinator for the agriculture ministry. He told me to participate in the meeting scheduled for Thursday. When I opened the email, the entire content was in Hindi and I could not make out a thing,” said Swamimalai S Vimalnathan, the secretary of Thanjavur District Cauvery Farmers Protection Association.“The committee should ideally travel across the country and seek the views of farmers and their representatives. Moreover, the practice of sending government letters in Hindi alone is not good,” he said.

The Times of India

2021-01-21

Trichy