Farmers protests: Entrance to Delhi from the Delhi-Meerut Expressway has been blocked.
40 farmer leaders gathered today on the Delhi-Haryana border to discuss follow-up actions after Thursday’s meeting with the government failed to end the stalemate on controversial new farm laws. The farmers’ representatives upheld their demand for repeal of the laws and even refused the lunch, tea and water offered to them during a nearly seven-hour meeting in central Delhi. There have been no changes in his position. They are demanding that the center withdraw the three farm laws and that any discussion about the minimum support price or MSP is “pointless.” Tomorrow the third round of meeting with the center will take place. Peasant leaders have also called for a national protest tomorrow. The protest, the largest by farmers in years, has entered the ninth day.
Here are the top 10 updates on the farmers’ protest:
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Farmers protesting on the outskirts of Delhi against the center’s new agricultural laws must be eliminated because they are blocking emergency medical services, a petition in the Supreme Court said on Friday. It was introduced by Rishab Sharma, a resident of Delhi, who said that the high court had said that public places cannot be occupied by protesters and there must be a specific place for it, while listening to a petition in the protest against the citizenship law in Shaheen Bagh from Delhi.
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Several roads leading to Delhi remain blocked and farmers are camping at four busy border points in the national capital – Singhu, Noida, Ghazipur and Tikri – to press their demands, under heavy police deployment.
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The entrance to Delhi from the Delhi-Meerut Expressway has been blocked as farmers from different parts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand continue their sit-in. Another key route in east Delhi, connecting the capital with Noida, has also been partially closed for the fourth day in a row after the protests. The DND migration route and the Sarita Vihar highway are the alternative routes to Noida that are open.
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At Thursday’s meeting, farmers’ representatives made a 39-point presentation on the shortcomings of the controversial new farm laws, after which the government gave its opinion.
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Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who led the talks at Vigyan Bhawan on Thursday, said the government “has no ego” and was discussing the issues raised by farmers with an open mind. “The government will discuss the points that were raised at Friday’s meeting and hopes that the talks will move towards a finality when the next round of discussions takes place on Saturday,” the minister said.
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Farmers union leaders, who left the meeting place shouting slogans, said talks remained stalled and some of them threatened to boycott any other meeting if no solution was found at Thursday’s meeting. “Discussions have ended on our part. Our leaders have said that they will not attend any more meetings if the government does not come up with a solution today,” said Pratibha Shinde of Lok Sangharsh Morcha.
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“The government proposed amendments to the laws, but the farmers’ unions still insisted on withdrawing these laws,” said Kavitha Kuruganti, leader of the Coordinating Committee of the All India Kisan Sangarsh farmers group.
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Harsimrat Kaur Badal of Shiromani Akali Dal, a former ally of the BJP-led NDA, questioned the government, saying that half of the farmers’ protest will end if the government-guaranteed minimum price (MSP) becomes a right. by law. Accusing the government of taking a unilateral decision and pushing the laws, he said the government should now “withdraw from its rigid stance.”
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On Thursday, Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal returned his Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award, in protest of the government’s “betrayal of farmers”. Punjab Sahitya Akademi award winners, renowned poet Mohanjit, short story writer Jaswinder, and playwright Swarajbir, who is also editor of the Punjabi Tribune, also returned their awards.
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At least three deaths have been recorded during these protests and farmers said it would be “inhumane” for the center, given the cold weather, to prolong this further.
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