Convene special Parl session to repeal farm laws: Farmers to govt

PTI, Dec 2, 2020, 8:40 PM IST

New Delhi: Protesting farmers on Wednesday demanded the central government call a special session of Parliament to repeal new farm laws and threatened to block other roads of the national capital if their demands are not met.

Addressing a press conference, Krantikari Kisan Union president Darshan Pal accused the Centre of dividing farmers organisations by projecting the ongoing protests as Punjab-centric.

Representatives of farmers organisations from other parts of the country will also be involved under Kisan Samyukt Morcha to decide the future course of action against the new farm laws, he said.

Pal said that representatives of farmer organisations will give their point-wise objections to the Union ministers at a meeting scheduled to take place on Thursday.

“The Centre should call a special session of Parliament to repeal new three farm laws. We will continue our agitation till these farm laws are repealed,” Pal told reporters.

Another farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chadoni said that if the Centre does not withdraw the laws, more steps will be taken in the coming days to press their demands.

Before the press conference, leaders of around 32 farmer organisations held a meeting which was also attended by Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait at the Singhu border.

The talks between the Centre and agitating farmer unions on Tuesday failed to end the standoff, and the two sides will now meet again on December 3.

The farmer unions rejected the government’s offer to set up a committee to look into issues raised by them and said they will intensify their stir until their demands are met.

“After our meeting, Rakesh Tikaitji was called by the government for a meeting on Tuesday. He is in with us… It is not Punjab-centric agitation, but it belongs to all farmers of the country… We have the support of farmers from Kerala, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states against the new farm laws,” Pal said.

He alleged that the government did not want Samyukt Kisan Morcha member Yogendra Yadav to attend talks held between Union ministers and representatives farmer unions on Tuesday.

“Yogendra Yadavji told us that the process of talks should not stop and thereafter, we attended the meeting with Union ministers…in yesterday meeting, we emerged as the representatives of all country’s farmers. We succeeded to avert conspiracy to divide farmer organisations,” he said.

Farmers from the neighbouring States of Punjab and Haryana have been camping at five border points of Delhi for a week now. The number of protesters swelled at Delhi border points on Wednesday. Police stepped up security after thousands blocked key gateways into the national capital.