Two days after the Centre wrote to farmers’ unions protesting against the three agricultural laws inviting them for the next round of talks at a date of their choice, the protesting farmers on Tuesday said that this was not a step forward by the government but a “way to trick farmers.” They further reiterated that they don’t seek amendments in the laws but want these to be “shunned completely.”
“Government has decided its position regarding the farm laws that they’ll not be withdrawn. They released a letter stating that if farmers want amendments in these laws, they want date and time for discussion,” Sarwan Singh Pandher of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee said on Tuesday at the Singhu border, which has emerged as the epicentre of these protests.
“This is not a step forward by the government but a way to trick farmers. A normal person would think that farmers are stubborn but the fact is that we don’t seek amendments in farm laws, we want them to be completely shunned,” Pandher further said.
After five rounds of talks, including one each on December 1, 3 and 5 could not break the deadlock between the two sides, the government had written to farmers’ unions on Sunday inviting them for the sixth round, asking them to choose a date that is “convenient” to them. The government has made it clear that it won’t repeal the three laws, passed under controversial circumstances in September, with the farm unions adamant on a total repeal. Thousands of farmers have been protesting against these laws on the borders of Delhi since last week of November and have repeatedly stressed that they have come prepared “for a long haul.”
{{/usCountry}}After five rounds of talks, including one each on December 1, 3 and 5 could not break the deadlock between the two sides, the government had written to farmers’ unions on Sunday inviting them for the sixth round, asking them to choose a date that is “convenient” to them. The government has made it clear that it won’t repeal the three laws, passed under controversial circumstances in September, with the farm unions adamant on a total repeal. Thousands of farmers have been protesting against these laws on the borders of Delhi since last week of November and have repeatedly stressed that they have come prepared “for a long haul.”
{{/usCountry}}Protests against the three agricultural laws entered day 27 on Tuesday.