Farmers Movement Archive

After talks with government, farmers to continue protest at UP Gate with ‘key issues’ remaining

Ghaziabad: After the sixth round of talks between the protesting farmer unions and government representatives ended on Wednesday evening on a positive note, the farmers protesting at the UP Gate border expressed satisfaction over the development but said that the “key issues” of the rollback of the new farm laws and a new law on minimum support price (MSP) still remain to be resolved. Leaders of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) said that they will continue with their protests at the UP Gate till their main demands are not met. While the talks between the union leaders and the government were underway in Delhi, Chaudhary Naresh Tikait, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), held a ‘Mahapanchayat’ at the UP Gate and said that he had spoken to the farmers’ leaders who were part of the talks with the government. “We had asked the farmers’ leaders to make way for ‘faisla’ (decision). Earlier, I had said that we are ready to take two steps backward if the government draws two steps back. Now, I say that we are ready to take two and half steps back. So, we have also told our leaders that there should be a soft approach for reaching to a decision,” Tikait said. He, however, reiterated that if there is no decision on farmers’ main demands, the protest will continue and the farmers will move afoot and on tractors as part of “Dilli Chalo” call on the Republic Day. “If talks fail, we will move to Delhi even if they fire at us. With the stern stance of the government, farmers are also getting tough. They adopted tactics but the farmers did not bow down. If the government is incurring losses due to farmers’ protest, our farmers are also incurring losses,” Naresh Tikait, added. The farmers have been protesting at UP Gate since November 28 and the their number over one month has now swelled to about ten thousand at the site with the protesters occupying the place in tractor-trolleys, temporary shelters and tents. Most of them have come from UP, Uttarakhand and Punjab. Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar after Wednesday’s meeting said that consensus has been reached on two issues out of four and the next meeting will be held on January 4. Tomar also said the union leaders kept insisting on the repeal of the three farm laws, but the government side tried to explain to them the benefits of the Acts and sought to know specific problems faced by the farmers. On farmers’ demand for a legal guarantee for procurement at MSP, the minister said the government has already said that it is ready to give a written assurance. “It is good that the talks have progressed and we have our focus on repeal of the three farm laws and a new law on MSP. Till these demands are met, farmers will stay and continue with their peaceful protest,” said Jagtar Singh Bajwa, a farmer leader from Uttarakhand. Earlier in the day, Rakesh Tikait, national spokesperson of BKU, before leaving for talks, said that no one at any of the protest sites at Delhi borders was ready to make amendments to the new laws. “I found no one who was ready for amendments. The farmers in villages are spearheading the protests and they are not afraid of guns. The government has two options – to repeal laws or fire at us. So far, we have only demanded repeal of laws and not asked them to vacate seat. In the world, whenever such revolutions have taken place, the governments get toppled. We have not said such things and only demanding repeal of three laws,” Rakesh Tikait said.

Hindustan Times

30-12-2020

Noida