Farmers Movement Archive

Govt. talks to breakaway leaders amid protest

The farmers, from Rajasthan and southern Haryana, heading to Delhi to join the protests, were stopped at the border by the Haryana Police. On the Uttar Pradesh border, protesters aligned with the Bharatiya Kisan Union-Tikait temporarily blocked the highway at Ghazipur. “Farmers are being arrested, and their tractors and trolleys are being stopped. Farmers from Uttarakhand are also being held back in U.P. We will not tolerate this harassment,” BKU leader Rakesh Tikait told presspersons, threatening to completely seal the Ghazipur border. “State government should not interfere. Our fight is long, and our demands are with the Centre.” However, another farmer leader from U.P. and the national convener of the AIKSCC, V.M. Singh, said he was willing to drop the demand for a repeal of the laws if the Centre brought in a law to guarantee MSP for all farm produce, from both public and private buyers. “These three laws will automatically become infructuous if the MSP guarantee law is passed. That was always our original demand. [Other organisations] are now changing the goalposts,” he told The Hindu . Mr. Singh was evicted from his position as AIKSCC national convener on Sunday night for his stand. The Centre has offered a written assurance that MSP will continue, but has so far refused to consider a legal guarantee. “If the government invites us for talks, I am willing to negotiate on behalf of U.P. farmers... So far, we have supported the demand for repeal of the three laws, but we cannot support a deadlock. We cannot be so rigid,” Mr. Singh added. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, meanwhile, met groups of farmers who support the farm reforms, albeit with amendments. Speaking to journalists after the meeting at Krishi Bhavan, Mr. Tomar said, “The government is ready for talks at any time. We wanted to have a clause-by-clause discussion on these laws. We are engaging with farmers. We have given our proposal to the farmers The farmer leaders have to decide and convey when they are ready for the next meeting.” Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala also urged the unions to take a step back and end the stand-off in the larger interest of the farming community. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who has previously acted as a mediator with farm leaders, also struck a conciliatory note. “Agriculture has been one sector which has been able to avoid the adverse effects of the pandemic... There is no question of taking retrograde steps against our agricultural sector ever,” he said, addressing industry group FICCI. (With inputs from Ashok Kumar in Gurugram, Vikas Vasudeva in Chandigarh and Dinakar Peri in New Delhi)

The Hindu

2020-12-15

December 15 2020 00:00 IST