Farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, protest against the Center’s new agricultural laws.
United Nations:
People have the right to demonstrate peacefully and the authorities should allow them to do so, said the spokesman for the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, of the protests by farmers in India.
India has called foreign leaders ‘statements about farmers’ protests “misinformed” and “unjustified” when it comes to the internal affairs of a democratic country.
On the Indian question, what I would tell you is that what I have said to others in raising these issues is that people have the right to demonstrate peacefully and the authorities must allow them to do so, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General he said Friday.
Dujarric was answering a question about the farmers’ protest in India.
In response to comments from foreign leaders, Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said on Tuesday: “We have seen some misinformed comments related to farmers in India. Such comments are unwarranted, especially when they refer to the internal affairs of a democratic country.. “
In a short message, the ministry added that “it is also better that diplomatic talks are not misrepresented for political purposes.”
On Friday, India summoned the High Commissioner of Canada and told him that the comments made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and others in his cabinet on the farmers’ protest constituted “unacceptable interference” in the country’s internal affairs and that these actions If it continues, there will be a “seriously damaging” impact on bilateral relations.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting for the past nine days on the borders of Delhi against three agricultural laws. Dubbing these laws “anti-farmer,” these farmers claim that the newly enacted legislation would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of large corporations.
However, the government has argued that the new laws will provide farmers with better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.
The government and farmers’ unions today held the fifth round of talks on the new farm laws.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
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