A day after Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar hinted at the ‘Khalistani element’ in the farmers’ protest, Union Interior Minister Amit Shah said the uproar was “not politically motivated”. The clarification came even as thousands of farmers turned down the Center’s offer for immediate talks if they ended the blockade of key roads they have held while seeking to remove legislation that they say could devastate crop prices.
“I never called the farmers’ protest for political reasons, nor do I call it now, Shah in Hyderabad.
The thousands of farmers will continue to camp on the roads of Punjab and Haryana until three new agricultural laws are withdrawn, Jaskaran Singh, the leader of the Kisan Union, or Farmers Union, told reporters.
We will not go to Burari (Delhi). Our 30 farmer organizations make decisions after consensus is developed. Our leaders will report to the media on this later today: Baldev Singh Sirsa, Farmer Leader on the Singhu (Delhi-Haryana) Border on the Interior Minister’s offer to hold talks before 3 December. pic.twitter.com/edbacYjaGm
– ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2020
Farmers say the laws could stop the government from buying grains at guaranteed prices and result in their exploitation by corporations that would buy their crops cheaply.
The government says the legislation brings with it much-needed agricultural reform that will allow farmers the freedom to market their produce and boost production through private investment.
These reforms have not only served to free our farmers, but have also given them new rights and opportunities, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.
On Friday, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar offered to hold talks with farmers’ representatives on December 3. That followed a day of clashes with police, who used tear gas, water cannons and baton charges to push back as they tried to enter New Delhi. .
The latest offer for talks was made by Interior Minister Amit Shah on Saturday. But he said farmers would have to move their protests to a government-designated location in New Delhi and stop blocking roads.
Singh, the farmer’s representative, said he doubted the government really wanted to hold talks. “We want the farm laws removed, that’s all,” he said. Singh said that more farmers would join the protest and block national highways in other states as well.
Farmers have long been seen as the heart and soul of India, where agriculture supports more than half of the country’s 1.3 billion people. But farmers have also seen their economic influence wane in the past three decades. Once they accounted for a third of India’s gross domestic product, they now produce just 15% of gross domestic product, which is valued at $ 2.9 trillion a year.
Farmers often complain of being ignored and hold frequent protests to demand better crop prices, more loan exemptions and irrigation systems to guarantee water during periods of drought.
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