“The letter indicates that the government does not want to call a meeting. It is just going through a formality. The government is not serious about holding the next round of talks, otherwise it could have specified the time and venue as it had done on earlier occasions,” said Shiv Kumar Kakka, national president, Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Mahasangh.
Kakka said the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 protesting unions, will decide on a response.
Jagmohan Singh Patiala, general secretary, Bharti Kisan Union Ekta (Dakaunda), said there was “no need for such a long letter”. “We had already clarified that we will only settle for a repeal of the three laws and the legalisation of MSP for all crops. The Government should focus on these demands instead of beating around the bush. We will decide on the Government’s proposal in tomorrow’s meeting,” he said.
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Even as the stand-off between the Centre and the farmers continues, several farmers affiliated to the Indian Kisan Union and Kisan Sangharsh Samiti from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday, 22 December to extend support to the new farm laws.
“Representatives of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Gautam Budh Nagar, UP and Indian Kisan Union, New Delhi gave memorandum in favour of new farm laws. They thanked the prime minister and said that these laws will improve the conditions of farmers and should not be repealed,” Tomar said after the meeting, as quoted by ANI.
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Opinion | How Punjab farmer agitation was hijacked by their Left-leaning leaders
In my prime time show âAaj Ki Baatâ on Friday night, we showed how a handful of farmer leaders, with Leftist and anti-Modi leanings, have hijacked the farmersâ agitation in Delhi. These are the leaders who want a bitter confrontation with the Centre and are trying to stall negotiations at each and every step. Even on Friday, the Union Agriculture Minister said that the government was ready for talks, but the farmer leaders should come forward and tell the provisions of farm laws which they want to be amended. But the handful of farmer leaders decided not to respond and intensified the agitation. They have announced that they would block roads and railway tracks in the National Capital region and bring normal life to a standstill.