The protesters had previously said that the prime minister should listen to our ‘mann ki baat’ and insisted on the repeal of the agricultural laws.
Punjab farmers’ unions, which have been protesting at key entry points to Delhi against recent agricultural sector laws, were invited to speak with the Center on Tuesday afternoon, the Ministry of Agriculture said late Monday. Peasant leaders said they would meet Tuesday morning to decide their response to the invitation.
The unconditional invitation to dialogue came after a day of tough talks by farmer leaders who said it was time for the Prime Minister to hear the “mann ki baatFrom farmers or paying a high price for not doing it. Their demand for the repeal of the Center’s three agrarian reform laws is non-negotiable, they insisted, on the fifth day of their protest.
Also read: Dilli Chalo | Farmers’ protest enters the fifth day
Restricted number
Late on Monday, the Center responded by issuing an invitation from the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar “to all organizations that were invited to the last meeting.” Only the 32 farmers unions in Punjab had been invited to the previous meeting with the Center on November 13.
The meeting has been scheduled for 3 pm at Vigyan Bhavan in the capital. A letter from the Secretary of Agriculture, Sanjay Agarwal, was also sent to the 32 unions.
“Given the cold and COVID, this dialogue has been held early, so that the members of the peasant organizations do not have problems. Previously, this meeting was scheduled for December 3, “said the statement from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Massive numbers
Tens of thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have gathered outside the Tikri and Singhu border crossings for five days, and now a crowd is also growing at the Ghazipur border crossing. Traffic into the city has been severely affected and farmers have threatened to block five border points as more protesters mobilize.
After the farmers declined Interior Minister Amit Shah’s invitation to hold talks as long as the protesters moved to the Burari grounds, there were at least two meetings between senior ministers and cabinet officials, and several unofficial contacts between Punjab government and farmers’ union leaders.
Read also: Dilli Chalo protest | Burari is an open jail, say farmers rejecting the Center’s conditional invitation for talks
Shah and Tomar met with BJP President JP Nadda late on Sunday. Tomar was seen leaving Mr. Shah’s residence again on Monday afternoon.
At a joint press conference of protest leaders on the Singhu border, Bharatiya Kisan Union-Dakaunda chief Jagmohan Singh criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attitude.
Also read: Impact of farmers’ protest: supply of vegetables, fruits from other affected states
“We have been listening to it for many years; now is the time for you to hear the mann ki baat from farmers, ”he said, in what appeared to be a response to Sunday’s speech by the prime minister to the nation defending agricultural reforms and claiming that farmers have been misled. Mr. Modi repeated those remarks in Varanasi this afternoon during his visit to his constituency on the occasion of Dev Diwali.
Read also: Dilli Chalo protest | Not leaving the border, prepared to stay for six months, farmers say
Mr. Singh accused the government of “double talk” and an “authoritarian and fascist” attitude, and warned that Modi would pay a high price if farmers’ demands were ignored. He urged the government to engage with farmers on the central agenda of the three laws and stop distracting them with other issues.
Denied “lies”
Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav tried to dismiss various “lies” spread by the Center and its supporters. He denied that the protest was driven solely by intermediaries, that it was politically motivated, that it was restricted to Punjabis only, or that it had been infiltrated by Khalistani elements.
“These are shameful lies,” Yadav said, criticizing those who question the patriotism of the protesters, some of whom have even lost family members defending the country. He also accused the government of treating farmers with condescension, acting as if they were children who do not understand the law or who are being deceived by others.
Gurnam Singh Chadhuni, head of another faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, also denied the accusation that only Punjab farmers were protesting. “Every day, more people are mobilizing in Haryana. Khap panchayats from each village have been meeting and have decided to send more farmers to the capital. Wait to see how many more will oppose the law that will only benefit businesses, not farmers, ”he said.
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