Farmers Movement Archive

Farmer leaders to meet today to chalk out course in wake of SC ruling

A day after the Supreme Court asked the government and the agitating farmer groups to “talk to each other” on the three contentious farm laws and find a solution, farmers across the four protest sites in Delhi on Friday endorsed the apex court’s suggestion and said they wanted the government to repeal the laws.Balwinder Singh, 48, a resident of Chahal village in Tarn Taran district, said, “People tried to malign our agitation but did not succeed. The Supreme Court upheld our right to protest and it only shows that we are right. We only hope that the government comes to its senses and understands the plight of farmers.”On Thursday, several farmer leaders said they would hold consultations with top Supreme Court lawyers on whether to “implead” as a party in the ongoing proceedings before the Supreme Court. Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal), said, “The farmer union leaders have called a meeting on Saturday afternoon at 2pm. We will decide the further course of action in that meeting.”Many protesters also reacted adversely to the Union agriculture minister’s open letter to farmers. Dinesh Chaddha, a lawyer from Barwa village in Ropar district of Punjab, said, “The union minister’s letter is highly misleading. His assurances about the minimum support price (MSP) mean nothing if it is not included in the Act itself. As far as contract farming is concerned, everybody knows that corporates will have the upper hand in forming such agreements; so the government should intervene in such matters.” Protesters at the four borders points of Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur, and Chilla continued to demand a repeal of the laws even as a steady stream of supporters joined the protesters already camped in these places. At Singhu border, protesters were joined by Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker and Punjabi Singer Babbu Maan. While food and medical camps saw the usual number of crowds on Friday, a tattoo artist’s stall, offering free tattoos, got a lot of attention from young farmers.To protect the farmers against the chill, the Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust started erecting a 110 feet by 40 feet enclosure on Friday, a few kilometres from the stage at Singhu border. “About 200 farmers can sleep there and since the tent will be closed from all sides, it will be better than sleeping in the open and catching the chill,” the work in-charge Jitendra Verma said.

Hindustan Times

18-12-2020

Delhi