FARMER PROTESTS
Though, their first round of talks on Tuesday did not yield a breakthrough but both sides agreed to hold the next round of talks on Thursday.
In a statement, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee ( AIKSCC), an umbrella outfit of the farmer unions, said the talks remained inconclusive.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting for seven consecutive days at the borders of the national capital against three farm laws.
The protesting farmers on Wednesday demanded that the central government call a special session of Parliament to repeal the new farm laws and threatened to block other roads of the national capital if their demands are not met.
Addressing a press conference, farmer leader Darshan Pal accused the Centre of dividing farmer organisations, but it will not happen. He said that protesting farmers will continue their agitation till the three farm laws are repealed.
Another farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chadoni said that if the Centre does not withdraw the new laws, more steps will be taken in the coming days to press their demands.
The farmers have expressed apprehension that the Centre’s farm laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporates.
The government has maintained that the new laws will provide farmers with better opportunities. It has also accused the opposition parties of misleading farmers.
Meanwhile, farmers at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in Ghazipur intensified their protest on Wednesday and police stepped up security as thousands blocked key gateways into the national capital. The protest at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border also led to the closure of a key route connecting the national capital with Uttar Pradesh.
While the police have kept the Haryana-Delhi border at Singhu and Tikri closed for traffic, the protest at Ghazipur, the city’s border with Uttar Pradesh, has also intensified, an official said. Two more border points connecting the national capital with Gurgaon and Jhajjar-Bahadurgarh were also closed as precautionary measures on Tuesday.
With this, five border points, including Singhu and Tikri, have so far been closed due to the protest.
The traffic police said the borders at Tikri, Jharoda and Jhatikra are closed for all kinds of “traffic movement”.
The Delhi border points remained under heavy police deployment with concrete barriers and multi-layered barricades in place. “Cemented barriers and multi-layered barricades have been put up besides heavy security personnel at Ghazipur border near UP gate where many farmers have been protesting since Saturday,” a senior police officer said.