Farmers reject Centre's offer for talks, say will block all roads to Delhi

PM defends farm laws, says these opened doors of opportunities for farmers

Thousands of farmers protesting the new farm laws rejected the Centre’s “conditional” offer for talks, saying they would block all five entry points to Delhi, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the Acts. In his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi on Sunday said the farm laws have begun mitigating the troubles of farmers as he cited the example of a Maharashtra farmer who used their provisions to get the money a trader had promised but not paid to him in time.

New dimensions related to agriculture and related fields have emerged as the recently enacted farm reforms have opened doors of new possibilities for farmers, he said.

“The demands, which were made by farmers for years and regarding which every political party at some point of time had made promises, have been fulfilled... These reforms have not only freed them of various shackles but also given them new rights and new opportunities. These rights have begun mitigating farmers' problems in a very short span of time,” he said.

The PM’s remarks come as thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, have dug in their heels at Delhi’s border points in protest against the Acts.

After a meeting of over 30 farmer groups on Sunday, the farmers’ representatives said they will not move to the Burari ground (as a pre-condition laid down by the government for fresh talks) as it is an “open jail”. “The condition laid down by Home Minister Amit Shah is not acceptable to us. We will not hold any conditional talks. We reject the government's offer. The blockade will not end. We will block all five entry point to Delhi,” Surjeet S Phul, Bhartiya Kisan Union's Punjab president, told reporters. “The condition put for talks is an insult to farmers. We will never go to Burari. It is not a park but an open jail,” he added.

Darshan Pal, Punjab president of Krantikari Kisan Union, said, “The government has invited us to talk with conditions. The environment should be created for a conversation. We will not talk if there are any conditions.”

Late on Saturday, Shah had appealed to the farmers to shift to the Burari ground and had said the Centre was ready to hold discussions with them as soon as they move there.

A delegation of farmers has been invited for a discussion on December 3, he said, adding now that some of their unions have demanded that talks be held immediately, the Centre was ready to do so as soon as the protesters move.

Modi, meanwhile, in his address to the nation said that “correct information, away from rumours and confusion of any kind” is a big strength for people in any field, as he spoke about a couple of farmers involved with innovative practices in the agricultural sector.

With the broadcast coming on the eve of first Sikh guru Nanak Dev’s birth anniversary, Modi also spoke extensively on his government’s association with some significant events related to Sikhs and lauded their spirit of serving others.

The Congress, meanwhile, criticised the PM’s defence of the agriculture laws, saying that insistence in support of the legislation shows that the government is “drunk with power” and is rigid even in reconsidering the laws.

The party also demanded that Modi should immediately announce the suspension of the three “anti-agriculture” laws.