Famers will sit on hunger strike on all borders tomorrow. Farmers will hold hunger strike at Singhu, Tikri, Palwal, Ghazipur and all other borders where they have been protesting.

WEB DESK

In a bid to intensify their agitation against three new farm laws, farmers have now decided to block major highways linking the national capital and they will sit on a hunger strike on December 14.

Thousands of farmers who have been protesting at Delhi border points for the past 18 days have given a call to intensify their protest on Sunday as the government refuses to give in to their demands to repeal the legislations.

Security has been enhanced at the border areas with multi-layered barricades in view of the protest called by the farmers.

This comes even as PM Narendra Modi reiterated the reforms will help increase the income of the farmers. The Noida-Delhi Link Road at Chilla border connecting Noida to Delhi, which remained obstructed since December 1 due to the farmers’ protest, reopened late on Saturday night as the protesting farmers agreed to clear it for traffic. As of now, some protesters are still on one carriageway but they would clear the road soon.

The Delhi Police has scaled up security by deploying extra personnel and putting in place multi-layered barricades at various border points in view of the call given by farmers to intensify their protest against the Centre’s new agri laws and block the Jaipur-Delhi highway today.

The Delhi Traffic Police has deployed its personnel across important border points to ensure commuters do not face difficulties and is also constantly updating people about open and closed routes on its Twitter handle.

Why is Govt Talking to Them If Farmers Have Maoist and Khalistan Links? Asks Chidambaram

WEB DESK

Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has slammed the Centre on the linking of farmers’ protest with Khalistan and Maoist elements and questioned that if it were so why was the government holding talks with protesters.

“Ministers have described the protesters against the farm laws as Khalistanis, agents of Pakistan and China, Maoists, and ‘tukde-tukde’ gang. If you exhaust all these categories, it means there are no farmers among the thousands of protesters. If there are no farmers, why is the government talking to them?” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, as the Centre’s talks with protesting farmers continued to be stalled, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held discussions on the farmers’ issues with Punjab BJP leaders on Sunday in the presence of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

At the nearly 40-minute meeting at Shah’s residence in Delhi, the situation in Punjab and steps to tackle the protest that farmers plan to intensify in the coming days were also discussed. Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Som Parkash was also present.