Farmers’ agitation against the Center’s three controversial farm laws entered Wednesday 14 amid signs that the standoff between the government and farm unions will not end soon. As protesting farmers continue to sit on the outskirts of Delhi, occupying several roads leading to the national capital, the sixth round of talks between the Center and agricultural leaders is scheduled for Wednesday, although their fate is in balance after talks. “informal”. between Union Interior Minister Amit Shah and peasant leaders, which took place on Tuesday night, failed to break the deadlock.
Here’s everything you need to know about the farmers’ uproar starting on day 14:
1. Farm union leaders will decide on Wednesday whether to proceed with the sixth round of talks, scheduled for later in the day. Speaking to the ANI news agency, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesman Rakesh Tikait, who attended the meeting with Shah, said that the government will hand over a proposal to farmers which, he said, will be discussed.
Read also | No progress as farmers tell Amit Shah they want a total reversal
2. 13 agricultural union leaders attended the meeting with Shah. While the meeting was originally scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., it was delayed due to confusion over the venue. Some leaders arrived at Shah’s residence while others arrived at the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) guesthouse in Pusa, where the talks finally took place.
3. At the meeting, the leaders reiterated their demand for a complete rollback. Shah, however, said that the Union’s agriculture minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, would present a “concrete proposal” in talks on Wednesday. So far, the two sides have held five rounds of talks, including three last week, on December 1, 3 and 5.
4. On Tuesday a nationwide Bharat Bandh was organized against the three agricultural laws. The bandh, which was supported by almost all opposition parties, was largely peaceful. However, there were street incidents of protesters blocking roads and railways.
5. On Tuesday, the alleged party coordinator and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was placed under “house arrest” by the Delhi police, who refuted the claims. After AAP workers, including MP CM Manish Sisodia, sat in a ‘dharna’ outside Kejriwal’s residence, the police gave them permission to enter.
6. Later, addressing AAP workers, Kejriwal claimed that he was placed under house arrest because the Center was “angry” with him for rejecting the Delhi Police request to convert nine stadiums into temporary prisons and for meeting with farmers protesting at the Singhu border on Monday. “I planned to go to the border today not as CM, but as a common man, but I think they got to know about my plan,” he said.
Read also | They didn’t let me go, says CM Arvind Kejriwal from Delhi, against the police version of ‘house arrest’
7. A delegation of opposition leaders will call President Ram Nath Kovind at 5 pm on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing unrest with him and urge him to repeal the laws. Rahul Gandhi from Congress, Sharad Pawar, Head of the NCP, Sitaram Yechury, Leader of the CPI (M), D Raja of the CPI and TKS Elangovan of the DMK will meet with President Kovind.
Read also | Opposition leaders likely to meet with the president and seek repeal of farm laws
8. Farmers, most of whom are from Punjab, have been protesting what they call “black laws” since September, the month these laws were passed. They initially sat on the train tracks in Punjab, but then announced the ‘Dilli Chalo’ march for November 26.
9. While on their way to Delhi, protesting farmers faced strong resistance from the Haryana police, but managed to reach the capital city. Most are protesting at various borders leading to Delhi, while some are on Nirankari’s grounds in Burari, the site assigned to them by the Delhi police.
10. Farmers have repeatedly said that they just want a complete rollback and will not settle for less. They have also threatened to block all roads leading to Delhi and claim to have enough ration and other essentials to last for months.
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