Amarinder Singh met Amit Shah at the latter’s residence today.
Highlight
- Farmers’ protest affects Punjab’s economy – Chief Minister Amarinder Singh
- The Punjab government passed a set of bills to deny the center’s 3 agricultural laws
- Amarinder Singh had said his government could mediate talks between the center and the farmers.
New Delhi:
Mass protests by farmers on the roads near Delhi will not only affect Punjab’s economy but also threaten “national security,” Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said today after a meeting with Interior Minister Amit. Shah, urging “both sides” to resolve the deadlock.
“There are discussions between the peasants and the center, there is nothing to resolve. I reiterated my opposition in my meeting with the Minister of the Interior and asked him to resolve the issue that affects the economy of my state and the security of the nation,” he said. Amarinder Singh.
Punjab’s Chief Minister visited Amit Shah in Delhi and held discussions on ways to resolve the current clash between the government and farmers protesting the new agricultural laws. Several leaders of the ruling BJP have accused Amarinder Singh of actively supporting the protesters.
The meeting took place as the government held the second round of talks in a week with farmers’ representatives amid spiraling protests. Tuesday’s first meeting fell through when farmer groups rejected the center’s second launch for a committee to discuss their objections to farm laws.
Farmers on Wednesday said today’s talks will be the “last chance” to call an emergency session of parliament and recall the controversial laws. The government is considering a written guarantee for farmers that the Minimum Subsistence Price (MSP) system will continue.
Punjab’s prime minister and his congressional party have supported the farmers’ protest and the state Assembly also passed a series of bills aimed at denying the center’s agricultural legislation that was passed earlier this year.
Singh had previously said that he and his government were willing to mediate talks between the center and the farmers in the collective interest of all.
The protesting farmers, many of whom are from Punjab, have been camping at four border points in the national capital – Singhu, Noida, Ghazipur and Tikri – to press their demands, under heavy police deployment. They demand that the government withdraw the new farm laws if they want them to end their uproar.
At least three deaths have been registered during these protests, which today completed their eighth day. Farmers and opposition parties say it would be “inhumane” for the center, given the cold weather, to extend this further.
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