AMN / WEB DESK
Union Agriculture Minister Tomar said the government has already invited the farmers for discussion on December 3 and sought suggestions from the farmers’ unions for the same. He said the interests of the farmers “will never be harmed till Modiji is the prime minister”. Tomar said,
“I have said it on the floor of Parliament that the MSP stays as it is and will continue to be in force.”
Tomar said the government has held two rounds of discussion over the farmers’ concerns. “One meeting was held at the officials-level and in the second meeting, I was present myself,” Tomar said. Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s charge, Tomar said the Congress leader does not have the moral right to “offer suggestions” to the Modi government. He accused Rahul Gandhi of “misleading” the farmers on the issue of the farm bills.
Of the three bills passed by Parliament during the Monsoon Session, one was the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill. It authorises farmers to sell their produce outside APMC mandis. The agitating farmers say this law impacts the assured income of the farmers under the existing scheme of the Minimum Support Price (MSP). They are demanding the repeal of the law and be replaced by a new law that guarantees them the MSP
Thousands of farmers were on Friday allowed to enter Delhi following day-long clashes with police at the borders with Haryana. The clashes saw the police using water cannon and tear gases to keep the crowds under control.
Farmers are protesting over the three farm laws passed recently by Parliament.
The Delhi Police said the protesting farmers would be escorted to the protest site at Burari on the outskirts of the national capital. The farmers entered the city as part of their “Dilli Chalo” march to press for the withdrawal of the three farm bills. Clarifying the central government’s stand, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the government is ready to discuss the issues of the farmers on December 3 while making an appeal to the protesters to end their agitation considering this is the beginning of the cropping season
Meanwhile, thousands still waited at border points as they were undecided to go to the identified demonstration site. Those gathered at the Singhu border, one of the main routes used to access the city from Punjab, had not entered the city till late evening.
The move came amid clashes between farmers and police personnel at the Singhu border. Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police used tear gas at the Singhu Border to disperse protesting farmers who were trying to head towards the national capital as part of the march to protest the Centre’s new farm laws. Farmers also pelted stones at police and broke barricades in an attempt to enter the national capital. Heavy police deployment had been made at the city borders to prevent their entry.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh welcomed the Union government’s decision allowing farmers to enter the national capital and hold peaceful agitation. “I welcome the Centre’s decision to allow farmers to enter Delhi to exercise their democratic right to protest. They should also now initiate immediate talks to address farmers’ concerns on the #FarmLaws and resolve the simmering issue,” Amarinder Singh said in a tweet.
Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda condemned police action and said, “Farmers shouldn’t have been treated so roughly. Using tear gas on farmers who already had tears in their eyes. Farmers’ demands are right, govt should heed to them & resolve issues instantly. I ask people of Haryana to treat farmers with care.”
Meanwhile, the Delhi government said it will provide basic facilities to the farmers at Nirankari grounds, beginning with drinking water. The Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has asked its MLA and Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Raghav Chadha to take stock of the situation by reaching Burari.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators have extended their support to farmers protesting against the Centre’s farm laws and said these “dark laws” must be withdrawn. They also said that the farmers, mainly from Punjab, reached Delhi after “much struggle”, facing teargas shells, water canons and lathicharge by police at various border points along their way to the national capital.
The Delhi traffic police had shut the border for vehicular traffic as thousands of farmers resumed their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march after spending the night in Panipat.
Hundreds of western Uttar Pradesh farmers responded to the Delhi Chalo call to protest against the three central farm laws. On a Bharatiya Kisan Union call to join the protest in Delhi, the farmers belonging to Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Gautam Buddh Nagar and other western UP districts reached the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in Greater Noida on Friday afternoon, when they were stopped by the police.
With farmers going berserk at the Delhi borders, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at the Modi government saying the farmers were fighting a “battle of truth” against the farm laws. Tweeting with the hashtag, “IamWithFarmers”, Rahul Gandhi said the prime minister should remember that whenever arrogance takes on truth, it gets defeated. “The Modi government will have to agree to the demands of the farmers and take back the black laws. This is just the beginning,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter.