Farmers' Protest LIVE Updates: PM Modi to flag off 100th Kisan Rail today as farmers' agitation enters 33rd day

 Farmers' Protest LIVE Updates | BJP, Opp target each other as stir against agri laws enters second month: The war of words between the BJP and opposition parties intensified on Sunday as the stir by thousands of farmers who are camping on Delhi's borders braving the harsh winters to press for the repeal of three new central agriculture laws entered the second month. A day after protesting farmer unions proposed December 29 for the next round of talks but put forth several conditions for the agenda, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary expressed the hope that a solution will be reached in the meeting, even as several BJP leaders decried alleged attempts to politicise the farmer issues.

However, farmer leader and CPI(M) politburo member Hannan Mollah said there has been no response to their proposal for talks and dismissed claims that the Left parties were behind the agitation. "The government till now said that we did not want a meeting, now that we have specifically told them when, where and what of the meeting, there is no response from them. Now, it is for the people to decide who are liars. We acknowledge that there cannot be a resolution without a dialogue with the government," the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) general secretary said.

Farmers' Protest LIVE Updates | Farmers camping at Delhi borders not for holiday, but to seek answers from govt, says farmer leader: Farmers camping at various Delhi borders are here not for a "holiday" but to seek answers from the Centre to their grievances, farmer leader Hannan Mollah said on Sunday as he criticised the government for a lack of response to their proposal for talks on December 29. Farmer groups protesting against the Centre's three farm laws have proposed a meeting with the government at 11 am on December 29, but they are yet to receive any response from the government, he claimed. Previously, five rounds of talks between the farmer unions and the government have failed to break the deadlock.

"Thousands of farmers who are bearing the winter chill and have gathered at the borders are not here for a holiday. The government till now said that we did not want a meeting, now that we have specifically told them when, where and what of the meeting, there is no response from them. Now, it is for the people to decide who are liars. We acknowledge that there cannot be a resolution without a dialogue with the government," the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) general secretary said. (PTI)

 Farmers' Protest LIVE Updates | Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused the BJP of giving importance to its "capitalist friends" and said the farmers'' protest against the new agri laws is an example of the "failure" of the government. The BJP government at the Centre is making offers to farmers for talks, but on the other hand, it is levelling "baseless allegations" on the protesting farmers, he said in a statement issued here.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, however, did not elaborate on the issue of allegations on farmers. "This is an insult to farmers, who are staging a sit-in for their rights. The BJP, while supporting its favourite capitalist friends, is walking a path which is against farmers, labourers and those from the lower-middle income group. The government is giving Kisan Samman, but the new farm laws will cause losses worth thousands and lakhs to farmers," Yadav said.

Read: Farmers' protest example of govt's failure: Akhilesh Yadav

Farmers' Protest LIVE Updates | Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh launched a scathing attack on the BJP on Sunday over the malicious and derogatory terms allegedly used by its senior leaders against protesting farmers. Singh asked the saffron party to stop maligning the farmers and their genuine fight for justice by using offensive terms such as "urban Naxals, Khalistanis, hooligans" etc. "If the BJP cannot distinguish between anguished citizens fighting for their survival and terrorists, militants and hooligans, it should give up all pretence of being a people's party.

"A party which treats citizens exercising their democratic right to protest as Naxals and terrorists has lost all right to rule over those citizens," the chief minister said in a statement here. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) too condemned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly terming Punjab's farmers as "urban Naxals".

 Farmers' Protest LIVE Updates | Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the 100th "Kisan Rail" from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal today via video-conferencing, his office said on Saturday. The multi-commodity train service will carry vegetables such as cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, drumstick, chilli and onion as well as fruits like grape, orange, pomegranate, banana and custard apple, it added.

Loading and unloading of perishable commodities will be permitted at all stoppages en route with no bar on the size of consignment, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said, adding that the Centre has extended a 50-per cent subsidy on the transportation of fruits and vegetables. It may be noted that the first Kisan Rail was introduced from Devlali to Danapur on August 7, which was further extended up to Muzaffarpur.

Read: PM Modi to flag off 100th Kisan Rail today

 Farmers' Protest LIVE Updates | Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday appealed to the Centre to repeal the new farm laws and said farmers are protesting for their survival. In his second visit to the Singhu border, where thousands of farmers are protesting against the laws since November last week, Kejriwal said, "I challenge any Union minister to have an open debate with the farmers and it will be clear how beneficial or harmful these laws are."

Kejriwal, who had first visited Singhu on the Delhi-Haryana border on December 7, was accompanied by his deputy Manish Sisodia. "Farmers are protesting for their survival. These laws will snatch away their land. I appeal with folded hands to the Centre to please repeal the three agri laws," he said.

Read: I appeal with folded hands to Centre to repeal farm laws: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

Farmers' Protest LIVE Updates | Bid to mislead farmers will not succeed, says Rajnath Singh: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said attempts to "mislead" farmers on recent agriculture laws will not succeed. Addressing a state-level function to mark the third anniversary of the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government in Himachal Pradesh, he said the new laws will raise the income of farmers, but the Congress is misleading them.

Whenever a reform is effected, it takes a few years before it starts showing positive results, Singh said in his virtual address. Be it the 1991 economic reforms brought in by then finance minister Manmohan Singh or the ones introduced by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, it took four-five years to see the positive results, he added. "Similarly, if we cannot wait for four-five years, we can at least wait for two years to witness the positive results of the agriculture reforms being carried out by the Narendra Modi government," Singh said.

 Farmers' Protest LIVE Updates | Rajasthan Congress to hold dialogue with farmers: The Congress will hold dialogue with farmers in every Assembly constituency in Rajasthan from December 28 to 30 to make them aware about the Centre's three farm laws which the party said was against the interests of the peasantry. Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra said the Rajasthan government is with the agitating farmers and support their demand for repeal of the laws.

He said that the Congress will hold dialogue with farmers in every Assembly constituency of the state with an aim to make them aware of the laws and support the ongoing agitation. Dotasra said that state ministers will address farmers and hold press conferences to aware them about the anti-farmer laws and to highlight various achievements of the state government.

Farmers' Protest LIVE Updates | CPI(M) leader calls for active support to farmers' agitation: Senior CPI(M) leader and former MLA MY Tarigami launched a scathing attack on the central government over the ongoing farmers' agitation and called for active solidarity support to them for early revocation of the new agri laws in the country. 

He was speaking at a day-long convention organised by Jammu and Kashmir Kisan Tehrik, affiliated with All India Kisan Sabha, here, which passed several resolutions like solidarity and support to the farmers agitation, a joint march of workers and farmers to Delhi, demanding immediate repeal of all three agri laws, electricity amendment bill 2020, legislation for MSP and early fruitful negotiations with farmers. "This vital struggle of farmers must be backed up and strengthened by the active solidarity and support from all other sections of the working people," the CPI(M) leader said.

Hello and welcome to Moneycontrol’s coverage of the farmers’ protest. The 'Delhi Chalo' farmers' protest at border points of New Delhi has entered the 33rd day today.
Stay tuned to this LIVE blog for the latest updates through the day.