Farmers' protest
Farmers warn of intensifying protests if demands not met in Jan 4 talks
New Delhi/IBNS: Protesting farmers have warned of intensifying their agitation at Delhi borders if their demands of repealing of the three contentious agricultural laws are not met in the next round of talks, scheduled to be held on Jan 4.
The decision was taken on Friday at a meeting of the joint front of 40 farmers' unions that has been leading the protests.
"The government hasn't budged on two of our demands - repealing the laws and legal status to MSP. We will intensify the protests. If nothing comes out of the January 4 meeting, then we will take out a tractor rally on the GT-Karnal road on January 6," Yadav said at a press conference at Singhu border, the epicentre of the protests.
"If the government doesn't agree to our demands, we will start marching towards Delhi from Shahjahanpur border next week," he added.
They have also demanded that the Centre should agree to provide legal status to the minimum support price (MSP) guarantee in the next round of talks.
At the sixth round of talks, held on Dec 30, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had informed that consensus could be reached on two issues out of the four.
While the government is firm on implementing the contentious farm laws, it had offered to withdraw the Electricity Amendment Bill and the penal provisions for stubble burning in the Air Quality Commission Ordinance, which were among the other demands of the protesting farmers.
Tomar had even attempted to assure the farmers’ unions that MSP and the Mandi system will continue like before.
Thousands of farmers are camped in Delhi-Haryana border since the end of November with the sole demand of the repeal of the laws enacted by the central government through an Ordinance amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Friday, a 57-year-old farmer died while protesting at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.
According to reports, doctors suspect that he died due to Hypothermia.
The farmer has been identified as Galtan Singh of UP's Baghpat district. He had been protesting along with other farmers at the Ghazipur border.
One of the Centre's new farm laws will now allow farmers to sell their produce to institutional buyers beyond the regulated wholesale market.
Though the middlemen in the wholesale markets are often accused of usurping the farmers in the earlier agricultural system, the protesters, backed by several opposition parties, fear they will have little bargaining power while selling their produce to institutional buyers, running the risk of getting exploited with the gradual destablising of the mundies.
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