Amit Shah meets farmers for talks as protests spread against agri reforms

'There is no midway. We will demand just 'yes' or 'no' from Home Minister Amit Shah,' says union leader Rudru Singh Mansa.

Home Minister Amit Shah met with representatives of farmers Tuesday evening in Delhi after nationwide protests against newly enacted laws liberalising India's agriculture market spread to more parts of the country.

Shah's meeting venue was at the Pusa agricultural institute campus near his official residence in Delhi, NDTV reported.

"There is no midway. We will demand just 'yes' or 'no' from Home Minister Amit Shah at today's meeting," farmer leader Rudru Singh Mansa was quoted by ANI as saying said at a press conference near Delhi's border with Haryana.
 

"We have a meeting with the Home Minister at 7 pm today. We are going to Singhu border now and from there we will go to the Home Minister,” said Rakesh Tikait, a spokesperson for Bharatiya Kisan Union, one of the dozens of groups camping outside Delhi to protest the reforms.

Shah meet farmers for talks a day before sixth round of government negotiations on Wednesday. The nationwide shutdown on Tuesday led to road and rail traffic being affected in parts of the country and some markets were shut.

Shah will meet farmers' representatives for the first time to discuss their demands. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Railway, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal have been leading the talks at Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan.

Tens of thousands of farmers are camping around Delhi again on Friday, rallying against three laws that the government says are meant to overhaul antiquated procurement procedures and give growers more options to sell their produce.

Farmers fear the legislation, passed in September, will eventually dismantle India’s regulated markets and stop the government from buying wheat and rice at guaranteed prices, leaving them at the mercy of private buyers.

(With inputs from ANI)