Centre calls for early meeting with leaders as farmers picket toll plazas

Although the central government maintained that it was open to dialogue with the protesting farmers’ outfits, the farmers’ representatives declined to budge on their demand for the repeal of the farm legislation.

Farmers from Punjab and Haryana, demanding the abolition of the Center’s three recent farm regulations, threatened to stir up as the agitation began on Saturday, day 17.

With demonstrators deciding to withdraw, the Chilla (Delhi-UP) border was opened for traffic late on Saturday night. One of the demonstrators at Chilla Border.

Responding to allegations that the agitation has been “hijacked” by anti-social elements, farmer leader Rakesh Takait said that the Centre should catch any such individuals. “We do not know about the presence of anti-social elements in our agitation. The government is trying to distract the farmers. By saying all this, it is trying to malign our movement. And if it thinks there are any such elements in our protests, it should catch them. We have not stopped the government,” Takait told news agency PTI.

“The government’s proposal has no formulation which can guarantee that farmers will not be further indebted,” the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) said in a statement on Saturday.

One of the key negotiators for the Center, Union Minister Som Prakash, said that efforts are being made to call an early meeting of farmers’ union leaders.

In the meantime the Supreme Court of three judges headed by CJI SA Bobde referred to the PIL seeking to evict agitated farmers from Delhi’s borders on 16 December.

Addressing a press conference at the border of Singhu (Delhi-Haryana) on Saturday, farmer leader Kamal Preet Pannu said a decision had been taken to further escalate the agitation if their demands had not been fulfilled.

Farmer union leaders called a meeting of the Sankyukta Morcha after 14 December to plan a potential course of action.

In a show of defiance, farmers’ outfits took over Bastara Toll Plaza in Haryana’s Karnal late Friday night. Shambhu Toll Plaza in Ambala was liberated for everyone too.

During the press conference at Singhu border on Saturday, Kamal Preet Pannu also said that thousands of farmers from Shahjahanpur in Rajasthan will launch a tractor march at 11 am Sunday, blocking the Delhi-Jaipur highway. Farmer union leaders will share a single stage during a ‘hunger strike’ at Singhu border on December 14, he said adding that farmers’ outfits will stage dharnas outside the offices of District Magistrates across India from 8 am to 5 pm Monday.

Farmer leader Gurnam Singh Charuni, during the same press conference on Saturday, told reporters that protesters will begin a fast from December 19 onwards, the martyrdom day of Guru Tegh Bahadur, if the Centre refuses to give in to their demands. A decision has been taken to invite labourers and women from across the country to the public meetings, farmer leader Kamal Preet Pannu added. “The first, second and third [farm] laws are combined which is why we are asking for them to be repealed,” Pannu said.

While issuing the keynote address during the 93rd Annual General Meet of FICCI on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his support for the new farm laws. “Farmers have options to sell their crops in mandis as well as to outside parties,” the PM said adding that the recent farm reforms will give farmers new markets and access to technology apart from attracting investments in agriculture.