End stir, resume talks, appeals Tomar as SKM holds protests in several states

Tribune News Service

New Delhi/Chandigarh, June 26

As protesting farmers on Saturday tried to march to Raj Bhavans in several states on the completion of seven months of their agitation, the Centre appealed to the farm unions to end their stir and come forward for talks on any provision of the agricultural reform laws they deemed unfair.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar said the government was ready to listen to the unions about any objections they might have to specific provisions of the legislations, and even resolve them. He, however, ruled out repeal of the laws, as demanded by the protesters. “I want to appeal to the unions to end their agitation. The government has already conducted 11 rounds of talks with the farmers. Agricultural reform laws are going to change the standard of their living,” he said.

Tomar said a large section of the country was supporting the laws but if the unions had any objection to any provision, the government was ready to “discuss and find a solution to their concerns”.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of 40 unions protesting at various Delhi border points, claimed the farmers were detained in states like Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana during the protests. The farmers were to submit memorandum of demands to the President through Governors.

Terming Tomar’s recent statements as “perplexing and contradictory”, the SKM asserted that farmers were not seeking some “meaningless amendments”, maintaining the laws had “fundamental flaws”.

Farmers from various parts of Punjab had gathered at the Amb Sahib Gurdwara in Mohali from where they started marching towards Chandigarh in the afternoon. The police used water cannons and even resorted to mild lathicharge to stop the farmers, but they succeeded in entering Chandigarh after breaking through barricades. Carrying flags of unions and raising slogans against the BJP-led government, the protesters, including women and youths, marched towards Chandigarh on tractors and other vehicles or on foot.

Led by union leaders, including Manjit Dhaner, Rajinder Singh Deep Singhwala, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Ruldu Singh Mansa and Manjeet Rai, the farmers marched till the Madhya Marg light-point where the Chandigarh Deputy Commissioner came to accept their memorandum.

In Panchkula, farmers from several parts of Haryana gathered at Gurdwara Nada Sahib and headed towards Haryana Raj Bhavan, forcing their way through a layer of barricades. Led by BKU leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni, the protesters were stopped at the Chandigarh-Panchkula border where the state police had deployed water cannons and trucks.

Farm protests began on November 26 last year in the wake of the parliament passing The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020. The protesters have been adamant on repeal, which the government has ruled out. The talks hit a roadblock after the January 26 violence in the national capital.

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