After Thursday's talks with the Union government resulted in a stalemate, protesting farmers, on Friday, have called for a Bharat Bandh on December 8. Bharatiya Kisan Union General Secretary HS Lakhowal said that effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be burnt across the country on December 5.
Farmers’ unions have said that the protests must be taken forward. They also said that if the Centre refuses their demands during Saturday’s scheduled meeting, then the protests will be intensified further. The farmer leaders have said that they will once again bring up the demand for Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee and the repealment of the three farm laws.
On December 3, the central government, led by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, met the farmers at a meeting in Vigyan Bhavan. Tomar told the farmers that there were agriculture experts in the meeting who would explain the farm laws to them. The farmers immediately asked that how could these farm laws be passed when the Minister couldn’t explain it himself. While Tomar was willing to include the promise of MSP in the three laws, the farmers claimed that they weren’t willing to budge in that regard. The farmers made it clear that they want the three farm laws fully withdrawn, and the MSP brought into effect via a separate bill.
The farmers also demanded complete acceptance and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report and removal of cases that were filed against the protestors. With the meeting hardly yielding any results, the minister promised to consider the removal of cases against the protestors. However, the farmers replied that they would rather see action than promises and claims. Meanwhile, farmers continue to protests at the borders of Delhi.
