Farmer leaders meet with Narendra Singh Tomar to give his letter of support for farm laws
New Delhi:
A group of 29 farmer leaders from Haryana met with Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar today to show their support for the new farm laws, amid growing protest from farmers who want the laws dropped.
The delegation led by Bharatiya Kisan (Mann) Union leader Guni Prakash delivered a “letter of support” to Mr. Tomar on agricultural laws passed by parliament in September.
“We will also protest if the government repeals the laws. We have delivered a memorandum to all the districts,” Prakash told reporters after the meeting.
“Everyone has the right to protest. They have, so do we. We support the three laws, but this protest is being led by leftists and violent people,” Prakash said. “It has taken on a political color. Farmers will get true freedom through these three laws,” he added.
This was the second group of farmers from Haryana to meet with Mr. Tomar and support the farm laws. The first group met with the Union minister on December 7.
There has been no progress in talks between protesting farmers and the government. The farmers, who are entrenched on the Delhi-Haryana border and elsewhere in the national capital region, have said they will end their protest only if the government withdraws all three laws. The center has said it is willing to amend the laws and listen to objections.
The three laws have been presented by the government as important reforms in the agricultural sector that will eliminate intermediaries and allow farmers to sell their products anywhere in the country.
However, protesting farmers fear that the new laws would pave the way to remove the minimum support price safety cushion and eliminate wholesale markets, leaving them at the mercy of big business.
The center has said that the minimum support price and the mandi the system would continue.
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