Farmers propose next round of talks with Centre on Dec 29; BJP ally RLP quits NDA

The protesting farmer unions on Saturday decided to resume the dialogue with the Centre and have proposed December 29 as the date for the next round of talks, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said.

The decision was taken during a meeting of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions camping at various Delhi border points protesting against the three contentious farm laws for the last one month.

So far, five rounds of talks have taken place between the protesting unions and the government but a stalemate has continued with farmers refusing to accept anything less than the repeal of the laws, which they fear would leave them at the mercy of corporates by weakening mandi and MSP systems.

In a letter to Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Vivek Aggarwal, the body said, “We propose that the next meeting between the farmers’ representatives and the Government of India be held on December 29, 2020 at 11 am.”

“As the government is willing to hold talks with us and asking us for date and our issues, we have proposed to hold dialogue on December 29. Now, the ball is in the court of government when it calls us for talks,” Tikait was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Tikait, a senior leader of Bharatiya Kisan Union, however, said the modalities for the repeal of three farm laws and guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) should be part of the agenda for the discussion with the government.

After multiple discussions between the two sides failed to reach a conclusion, the Centre had invited the farmers’ organisation to engage in more talks with them to resolve the gridlock over the laws.

Security deployed at Shahjahanpur.

RLP breaks away from NDA

Following the footsteps of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), another BJP ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) broke away from the NDA in protest against the farm bills.

Announcing the split at a farmers’ rally in Shahjahanpur in Rajasthan’s Alwar district, RLP chief and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal, said, “I am not stuck with Fevicol with the NDA. Today, I separate myself from the NDA.”

Beniwal is currently the only RLP MP in the Lok Sabha.

Agri More Punjab farmers head towards protest sites near Delhi

Meanwhile, carrying ration and other essential items with them, several batches of farmers from Punjab headed towards Delhi borders on Saturday to join the protest at the doorstep of the national capital.

According to farmer union leaders, peasants from various places including Sangrur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Bathinda districts were headed towards Singhu and Tikri borders.

Farmers staging protest at Delhi border.

Despite fog and biting cold wave conditions in many parts of Punjab, they started their journey on Saturday. “We will rest only when the Modi government repeals the farm laws,” said an elderly farmer headed to Singhu border from Amritsar.

Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), one of Punjab’s largest farmer organisations protesting against the recent laws, claimed that thousands of farmers will march from the Khanauri and Dabwali borders towards protest sites near the national capital. The outfit’s General Secretary Sukhdev Singh said that many women are also part of the fresh batches of farmers.

Tractor march on Dec 30, farmers invite all to join New Year celebration with them

Farmers have planned to hold tractor march on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal highway on Dec 30 in protest against the Centre’s agriculture laws, Union leader Darshan Pal said on Saturday.“We request people from Delhi and other parts of country to come and celebrate New Year with protesting farmers,” Pal said.

Farmers protest at Shahajanpur at Alwar Border.

Farmers’ protest: Youth fly kites with messages written on them at Singhu border

A group of youngsters camping at Delhi’s Singhu border have now come up with a new way of spreading their messages — flying kites with slogans written on them.

The youngsters Saturday flew kites — bearing slogans like “No Farmer, No Food”, “We are farmers, Not terrorists” – in order to convey their messages.

“Perhaps these kites will reach the residences of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Maybe then they would know then what we want, Surdeep Singh,” the brain behind the event said. “In the evening, we would cut the string of the kites, the youngsters said. This will help take our message to more people and make them aware of our fight,” they added.

The young farmers said this innovative form of protest is being carried out to spread their message as far as possible. “We all will cut the threads of these kites this evening. This will hopefully make more people aware of our fight and further spread our message,” said 25-year-old Singh.

(With inputs from PTI)