Updated: December 24, 2020 7:49:44 am
At the Singhu border on Wednesday.
Farmers’ unions, protesting on the Delhi borders for nearly a month against the new farm laws, said on Wednesday they sent a letter to the Center, stating that they are open to talks, but that the government must first offer a concrete proposal. .
Reading a letter sent by farmer leaders, Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav told reporters at the Singhu border: “We urge the government not to repeat those nonsensical amendments that we have already rejected, but to present a concrete proposal in writing. so that an agenda can be made and the negotiation process can start as soon as possible ”.
“We are waiting for the government to proceed with an open mind and clean intentions. We have been hearing the same set of amendments since December 5. We have told them that we do not want these amendments, ”he said.
The letter is addressed to Vivek Agarwal, Co-Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Cooperation and Farmer Welfare.
Farmer leaders said they have rejected the Center’s suggested amendments to the three farm laws and have not received any new proposals from the government since.
Farmers on the Singhu border on December 22 (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)
Shiv Kumar Kakka, National Chairman of Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Mahasangh, said: “We spoke with Interior Minister Amit Shah and told him that we are not going to accept the amendments. We want the laws to be repealed, but they are delaying the process. “
The letter sent by the farmers’ unions also claims that the government is trying to “smear” the protest.
“They asked us if the proposal we made was the decision of a single leader. I want to tell the government that they are trying to break our morale. They must find a solution soon, ”said Yudhvir Singh from BKU.
Yadav also said: “The government is holding talks with leaders and people who are not part of our movement. They (the Center) are trying to break up our protest. “
Your letter also mentions how farmers are unhappy with the Center’s response to their previous letters.
“Darshan Pal Singh from Kisan Kranti Union sent a letter to the Center that agreed with all the farmer leaders. We are saddened that you think it was based on one person’s opinion. It was a unanimous decision, ”the letter said.
Peasant leaders alleged that the government was trying to portray them as separatists, while giving their protest a “communal color.”
Last week, in an open letter to farmers, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that those who stop trains carrying supplies to soldiers at the borders, especially at a time when the situation in Ladakh it is “challenging”, they cannot be farmers.
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