Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Monday night said protesting farmers had been invited back to the talks on Tuesday. It had previously been decided that the next round of discussion would take place on December 3, but due to the incessant turmoil, the coronavirus
pandemic and cold weather, he said.
The scope of Tomar came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused opposition parties of playing tricks on farmers, adding that opponents of the laws are sparking apprehensions and protests.
“When the farm laws were enacted, they caused some misconceptions among farmers. We held two rounds of talks with farmer leaders, on October 14 and November 13. At that time we had also urged them not to go into agitation and that the government is ready for talks, “Tomar was quoted as saying by the ANI news agency.
Peasant leaders present during the first round of talks have been invited to Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on December 1 at 3 pm, Tomar said.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh’s Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) secretary Harendra Nehra said that farmers protesting against the Center’s agricultural laws will stay at the border of the UP gate of the national capital. He stated that they will not move until the laws are repealed. More are continually arriving at the protest site from various districts of the state and “we will camp here” until the Center complies with the farmers’ demands, he said.
More protesters converged near Delhi’s borders as the commotion appeared to intensify, prompting Delhi Police to improve security and place concrete barriers at all points of entry from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The farmers, who had announced on Sunday that they would block five entry points to Delhi in the coming days and rejected the Center’s offer to hold talks once they move to the Burari field, said they have come for a decisive battle and urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. to hear his “mann ki baat”.
Peaceful protests were taking place on the Singhu and Tikri borders, where farmers had gathered from Punjab and Haryana, for the fifth day. The number of farmers on the Ghazipur border increased, and more joined from UP. Long queues of vehicles clogged roads in parts of the national capital on Monday as Delhi police closed the Singhu and Tikri borders and tightened controls elsewhere in the wake of ongoing protests by farmers.
The closure of the borders has also caused heavy traffic on other alternative routes between Delhi and Haryana. At a press conference on the Singhu border, a representative of the protesting farmers said they will continue their agitation until their demands are met.
“Our demands are non-negotiable,” said Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan (Dakaunda) Union. “We have come here to fight a decisive battle,” Singh said. “We will stay on the borders of Delhi and make our strategy from here. We have come to Delhi to ask the prime minister to listen to the ‘mann ki baat’ from the farmers, otherwise he will have to pay a high price,” he said.
Reinforced security
As protests continued, Delhi police said deployment of security personnel has improved and multi-layered barricades have been set up following calls by farmers to block the five border points. “The Delhi police have reinforced their presence at various border points in the wake of farmers’ protests. All internal (Delhi police) and external (paramilitary) forces have been fully mobilized,” said a senior police officer.
He said concrete barriers have also been placed to prevent farmers from entering the national capital. In the evening, Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava also visited the Singhu border to take stock of security arrangements.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also appealed to the people of the city to provide all possible help to farmers and urged the Center to hold talks with them as soon as possible.
The prime minister wished everyone on the occasion of Gurupurab in a video message. “On this occasion, I appeal to all the inhabitants of Delhi to do everything possible for the protesting farmers in every way possible,” he said.
Experts have warned that the ongoing turmoil could well be a COVID-19 super broadcaster but protesters, some with masks and many without, said the new farm laws pose a greater threat to their survival. “A protest is a mass gathering and therefore, from a public health perspective, I would recommend preventive and protective behavior against the spread coronavirus Infection, otherwise a super-spread event could occur, warned Dr. Samiran Panda, head of the division of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research.
Many of the farmers said they are aware that the infection still persists, but the Center’s new farm laws pose a greater threat. Gurmeet Singh from Faridkot in Punjab, for example, has been in the Burari field, one of the largest in the city, for three days and counting. And he has no intention of moving.
“We can even survive the crown, but how will we survive this cruel law that will take away our bread and butter?” He said. Many protesters said they had come prepared for a long journey with rations and other necessities.
Sukhwinder Singh, who has been waving on the Tikri border for the fifth day in a row, said farmers do not want to go to the Burari field, the designated protest site identified for the rally. “We have enough ration to sustain us for at least six months. We do not want to go to Burari. If we continue from here, we will only go to Jantar Mantar. We will not protest anywhere else,” Singh said.
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