Updated: December 4, 2020 10:54:24 pm
Farmers protest at the Singhu border in New Delhi on Friday. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
Hardening his position before the fifth round of talks with the government, shaking farmers on Friday it announced a ‘Bharat Bandh’ on December 8th and threatened to occupy the toll plazas that day.
At a press conference, farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chadoni said that if the Center does not accept their demands during talks on Saturday, they will intensify their agitation against the new agricultural laws.
WATCH VIDEO
“At our meeting today, we have decided to make a ‘Bharat Bandh’ call on December 8 during which we will also occupy all toll plazas,” said Harinder Singh Lakhwal, general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union.
“We have planned to block all the roads leading to Delhi in the next few days if the new agricultural laws are not removed,” he also said. Follow updates from Farmers’ Protest LIVE
He said that farmers will protest against the central government and corporate houses and burn their effigies on December 5, adding that on December 7, athletes will return their medals in solidarity with farmers.
Farmers entered the ninth day of protest at the Singhu border. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra)
However, Lakhwal did not disclose the names and number of athletes who would return their medals.
During the press conference, there were also farmer leaders from Rajasthan, Telangana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and other states.
READ | From rooftop protests to tractor rallies and ‘Delhi Chalo’: a timeline of the farmers movement
Peasant leaders reiterated their demands that Call center for a special session of Parliament to repeal the new agricultural laws, adding that the protesters did not want amendments to the new laws but their elimination.
Farmers on the Singhu border on Wednesday (Express Photo / Amit Mehra)
Delhi border points remained clogged while thousands of farmers from Haryana, Punjab and other states held demonstrations for the ninth day in a row, after talks with the government yielded no resolution on Thursday.
Read also: Trudeau Farmer Comments: India Summons Canadian Envoy, Says Could Have ‘Detrimental Impact On Bilateral Relations’
Rajasthan Farmers Leader Ranjeet Singh Raju said that this ongoing turmoil belongs to all farmers in the country, adding that the government will be fully responsible if it does not feel public sentiments on the issue and if something happens because of it.
READ ALSO | Except MSP, Open Center to Reverse 3 Key Provisions of the Farm Bill
Farmers protesting at the Delhi-UP border in Ghazipur in New Delhi on December 2 (Express photo: Praveen Khanna)
The farming community has expressed apprehension that the new laws are “anti-farmer” and would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of large corporations.
Read also: Farmer protests testify to gender, age change, all courtesy
However, the government has argued that the new laws will provide farmers with better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.
.
