Farmers Protest Live Updates: Farmers, Centre To Hold 8th Round Of Talks Today Over Farm Laws

The farmers have been protesting against the new farm laws near Delhi border points (File)

New Delhi:

After seven rounds of talks failed to resolve the deadlock, farmer unions and the government will sit for the eighth round of discussion today.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 2 pm in Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the centre has lost the trust of the entire farming community and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should directly talk to agitating farmers.

Intensifying their stir against the central farm laws, 15 farmers from western Uttar Pradesh districts sat on a hunger strike in Uttar Pradesh's Noida, even as the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha's "tractor rally" witnessed participation of thousands of protesters in Gautam Buddh Nagar on Thursday.

The 15 protesters are from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lok Shakti), who are camping at the Dalit Prerna Sthal, while 11 farmers belonging to the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu) are already on a relay hunger strike at the Chilla border since a fortnight.

These protesters belong to Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Firozabad, Aligarh, Kasganj, among other places in the state, he added.

A 135-km six-lane arc that partially surrounds the National Capital Region and acts as a high-speed thoroughfare for cargo trucks was filled with tractors on Thursday as thousands of farmers who have been camping on the highways in and around Delhi began their march against new farm laws. The tractor rally, called by some 40 farmer unions, started on the Western Peripheral Expressway that starts at Ghaziabad and ends in Palwal.

Here are the Live Updates of the farmers' protests:

Jan 08, 2021 11:25 (IST)

Farmers to talk with Centre today
Following the seventh round of talks, at least one farmer union involved in the parleys had asked the protesters to prepare for the long haul, since the government had clearly refused to consider the repeal of the laws. They also want a law that guarantees the minimum support price.

"We will discuss these three laws point-by-point and we are ready to make amendments as necessary after considering the points on which you have objections," a release from the Narendra Tomar-led agriculture ministry said quoting him.

Jan 08, 2021 10:02 (IST)

Farmer Protest: Eighth Round Of Talks With Government Today
Leaders of protesting farmers will meet government representatives in New Delhi today to hold the eighth round of talks over the new agricultural laws that have sparked a furore across the country. The protesters have threatened to hold a tractor rally in the national capital on Republic Day if their demands are not met. The last meeting, on January 4, failed to break the stalemate with farmers insisting on the repeal of the new laws introduced in September.

Jan 08, 2021 09:28 (IST)

Farm leader says tractor march planned with Army talks during Republic Day parade
Rakesh Tikait further said that farmers have planned to take out a tractor march along with the tanks of the Indian army during the Republic day parade.

"We are going to take out a tractor march on January 26 with the Indian army. Army tanks will be on one side and the tractors on the other. A hundred tractors will march with one tableau. The government should make full preparations regarding this," he added.

Jan 08, 2021 09:13 (IST)

Farm leader's metaphor ahead of talks with Centre
Ahead of the talks, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait, using a legal metaphor said that the government is giving dates for court hearings without a case in place.

"Government is giving tareekh pe takeekh (dates after dates) with a case. They (the government) are also trying to using the probable spread of the COVID-19 virus as an excuse to end our protest. Political parties held large gatherings during the Bihar elections and also in Telangana. If COVID-19 starts spreading here we''ll see," he stated.

He reiterated that farmers will go home after the government listened to the demands of protesters and repeal the laws.

Jan 08, 2021 08:48 (IST)

PM Should Talk Directly To Protesting Farmers: Harsimrat Kaur Badal

A day before the government's eighth round of talks with protesting farm unions, Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the centre has lost the trust of the entire farming community and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should directly talk to agitating farmers.

"It is strange that farmers are spending nights in open in winter and even then their demands are falling on deaf ears," said Ms Badal, who party ended its alliance with the BJP-led NDA over the farm laws.

Jan 08, 2021 08:39 (IST)

15 Farmers Sit On Hunger Strike In UP's Noida Against Farm Laws
Intensifying their stir against the central farm laws, 15 farmers from western Uttar Pradesh districts sat on a hunger strike in Uttar Pradesh's Noida, even as the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha's "tractor rally" witnessed participation of thousands of protesters in Gautam Buddh Nagar on Thursday.