Marathon talks between the government and agitating farmer unions on Thursday failed to end the standoff over the new farm laws as the protestors refused to budge on their demands and another round of discussions will be held two days later in a bid to forge a resolution.
The government side, led by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, assured the group of nearly 40 farmer leaders that all their valid concerns would be discussed and considered with an open mind, but the other side stuck to their demand of repealing the three "hastily-passed" farm laws, saying there were several loopholes and deficiencies.
After the eight-hour-long meeting, Tomar said the government will consider all issues on Friday and so will the union leaders, before coming to the table again on Saturday. Asked whether the government is ready to amend the three contentious laws, he said, "I am not a fortune teller. When we will meet the day after, we hope to move towards a resolution."
Farmers up protests in Delhi
Thousands of protesting farmers from Uttar Pradesh blocked National Highway-9 near the UP Gate, while thousands from Punjab and Haryana stayed put at other points of the national capital. The protesters had on Wednesday threatened to block other roads of Delhi in the coming days if the new agriculture laws are not scrapped soon.
Farmers, who were staying put at the Ghazipur Border under a flyover, gathered with tractors at the NH-9 on Thursday leading to disruption of traffic from Ghaziabad to Delhi and later blockade of the busy stretch. "The local police have closed the routes on NH-9 and NH-24 from Ghaziabad to Delhi. On NH-1, both sides of the route have been closed near Shani Mandir," the Delhi Traffic Police tweeted.
Farmers from several districts of western Uttar Pradesh continued their sit-in demonstration at the Chilla Border between Noida and Delhi amid heavy deployment of security personnel.
The protest also led to partial closure of a key road connecting Noida and Delhi. One carriageway of the Delhi-Noida Link road from Delhi to Noida was open for commuters, while Noida to Delhi remained closed, causing inconvenience to travellers.
Protests across the country
Several farmers' organisations on Thursday held a protest in Nashik city of Maharashtra against the new farm laws brought by the Centre. The organisations, including Shetkari Samanvay Samiti, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, Prahar, Janshakti, Chhava and Krantiveer, held demonstrations at the district collectorate in Nashik to express their solidarity with the farmers agitating in New Delhi.
They demanded that these farm laws should be rolled back immediately and warned of intensifying their agitation. The organisations alleged that due to the new farm laws, farmers and their lands will be at the mercy of the capitalists and these legislations have been passed for a few industrialists in the country.
The Samajwadi Party on Thursday said it will take out kisan yatra in all 75 districts of the state from December 7 to express solidarity with protesting farmers and against "anti-farming policies" of the BJP-led government at the Centre. Party workers and office bearers will also raise farmers' issues and create awareness among people about the new farm laws, a party release said. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav appealed to the people as well as party workers to support the farmers in their struggle and ensure that they face no shortage of essentials like floor, pulses, rice and milk.
DMK president M.K. Stalin will lead party-sponsored demonstrations in different cities of the state on Saturday in support of farmers protesting at the Delhi border against the Centre's new farm laws, the party said. Stalin will participate in the protest at Salem, the native district of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami, according to a party release on Thursday.
Protests against the Centre's new farm laws gained momentum in Rajasthan on Thursday as farmer organisations blocked roads and held demonstrations and rallies in solidarity with thousands gathered at the national capital's borders as part of their 'Delhi Chalo' march. A group of farmers, under the banner of Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sangharsh Samanvay Samiti, held a protest at Jaipur's Surajpole mandi and blocked the Jaipur-Delhi highway for nearly an hour to demand a repeal of the laws.Another group staged a protest on the Rajasthan-Haryana border in Alwar district and said their numbers would rise if the Centre failed to fulfil their demands.
-Inputs from PTI
