11.19 am: Rahul Gandhi backs farmers’ “satyagraha against government”.

11.16 am: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati says her party urges the central government to accept all the demands of the farmers, reports ANI.

11.14 am: Bhupinder Singh Mann, who recused himself from the four-member committee appointed by the Supreme Court, says since protesting farmers have decided not to appear before the panel, there is no point in being part of it.

8.28 am: The International Monetary Fund believes the farm laws passed by the Indian government have the potential to represent a significant step forward for agricultural reforms, reports PTI, citing a spokesperson of the organisation.

There is, however, a need to strengthen the social safety net for those who might be adversely affected by the transition to the new system, says Gerry Rice, Director of Communications at IMF at a news conference in Washington.

8.25 am: Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lok Shakti) spokesperson Shailesh Kumar Giri says members of the Supreme Court-appointed panel of experts known to support farm laws should follow the suit of Bhupinder Singh Mann and not be on the “wrong side of history”. Mann had recused himself from the committee on Thursday, saying he would give up any position to prevent farmers’ interests from being compromised.

“Mann’s decision is a welcome move,” says Giri. “The other three members of the panel, who have shown pro-new farm laws stance should also follow Mann’s suit. This ongoing agitation for rollback of the three agricultural laws is history in the making, and we urge they should not be on the wrong side of history.”

8.20 am: Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Balbir Singh Rajewal has written an open letter to farmers, urging them not believe in rumours being spread to defame the protests against the Centre’s farm laws, reports PTI.

He says fake news is being spread that farmers will head towards the Red Fort or Parliament on January 26 during Republic Day celebrations. He adds that the outline of the “kisan parade” will be announced next week.

8.15 am: Farms unions and the Centre will sit down for another round of talks today. Farmers leaders, however, tell PTI that they do not have much hope for a positive outcome and will not settle for anything less than the repeal of the agricultural laws.

“We don’t have much hope from the Friday meeting as the government will cite the SC-appointed panel,” Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan says. “The government doesn’t have good intention to resolve our issues. We just want a complete repeal of three farm laws and legal guarantee on minimum support price for our crops.”

A quick look at the developments from Thursday: