Farmers protesting at Delhi’s borders have dug in their heels, iterating on Wednesday that they might not relent till the farm laws are repealed and increasing their protest against the Narendra Modi government to the company houses who they believe these laws will serve.
If the laws aren't rolled back immediately, effigies of the Modi government, Ambani and Adani would be burnt in villages across the country on Saturday, the farmer leaders announced each day before subsequent round of talks with the agriculture minister.Late on Wednesday, home minister Amit Shah invited Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh for a gathering on Thursday morning to debate the farmers’ issue. The farmers’ meeting with the govt is scheduled later within the day. The farmers, under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha Coordination Committee, wrote to agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday demanding that Parliament be convened immediately to repeal the three farm laws.
The letter said that thousands, including the elderly, have for the past seven days been sitting on the highway within the harsh winter which three farmers have died. it might be inhuman of the govt to not address the farmers’ legitimate demands immediately, the letter added.
The All India Motor Transport Congress, the apex body of transporters representing about 95 lakh truckers, rallied behind the farmers and threatened to halt operations in north India from Immaculate Conception if the govt fails to deal with their concerns. If the difficulty is prolonged by the govt , the transporters may choose a nationwide shutdown of operations, the AIMTC said on Wednesday.
The farmers’ letter to Tomar also said: “We ask the govt to not enjoys any divisive agendas with reference to the farmers’ movement which is united…. This was clear from the meeting proceedings yesterday.”
On Tuesday, the Punjab farmers’ unions had rebuffed the plan to reach out only to them, forcing the govt to satisfy the leaderships of three all-India collectives. But then the govt met the Bharatiya Kisan Union, based mainly in western Uttar Pradesh and led by Rakesh Tikait, late within the night separately.
The farmers in their letter asked the govt to not hold separate meetings.
Darshan Pal, president of the Krantikari Kisan Union, said at the Delhi-Haryana Singhu border after a gathering of the farmers’ collectives within the afternoon that that they had decided to maneuver forward under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha which Tikait too was with them now.
The letter once more rejected the government’s offer to line up an expert panel on the farm laws, saying it reflected “lack of sincerity”.Pal added: “The government can keep us engaged in discussions for days on end but the protests on the streets will continue and intensify.”
The entry points into Delhi from Haryana at Tikri and Singhu and from Uttar Pradesh at Noida are already barricaded, disrupting travel within the capital region.
Pal also thanked the sportspersons and ex-servicemen who have expressed solidarity with the farmers and announced plans to return their medals.
Responding to media queries earlier within the day, agriculture minister Tomar had said: “I appeal to the farmers that the laws are in their interest and therefore the reforms are done after an extended wait but if they need any objection, we are able to address their concerns.”
The government claims the new laws will benefit farmers, but the tens of thousands of farmers camped out at Delhi’s borders argue that this is often a reform they never sought and don't want.
If effigies are burnt within the country’s villages on Saturday, it'll be a repeat of what had played out on Dussehra in villages across Punjab, where the protests are on since the three farm laws were forced through Parliament in September.
The laws are aimed toward linking potential bulk buyers, like WalMart Inc, Reliance Industries Ltd and Adani Enterprises Ltd, on to the farmers, bypassing government-regulated wholesale markets and layers of commission agents.
The farmers see the laws as an effort to privatise agriculture, eliminate the agents who are an important cog of the farm economy, deny them a guaranteed price for his or her grains and leave them at the mercy of the oligarchs. They worry that after initially paying good returns for his or her produce, corporate buyers would force down prices.
The protesters said an identical move in Bihar had left farmers within the state worse off than before. “Some landholders from Bihar now work on our farms,” said 45-year-old Sukhbinder Singh, who grows wheat, potatoes and mustard on his 20-acre farm in Haryana. “If we don’t protest now, subsequent generation will curse us for not fighting the fight.”
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