Farmers’ Protest Updates: The farmer protests against farm laws entered its 31st day today.
New Delhi:
The protesting farmer unions met on Friday to discuss the government’s latest letter inviting them for talks, with some of them indicating that they may decide to resume their dialogue with the Centre to find a solution to the ongoing deadlock over the three contentious agri laws.
The unions said they will hold another meeting today where a formal decision on the Centre’s invite for the resumption of stalled talks is likely to be taken.
An official in the Union ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare also said the government was expecting the next round of meeting to take place in the next two-three days.
On Friday, several farmer unions held a meeting, but no decision could be taken on the Centre’s latest letter.
On Thursday, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Vivek Aggarwal wrote to the protesting unions and invited them for fresh talks, but made it clear that it would not be “logical” to include in the agenda any new demand related to the MSP, which is out of the purview of the three new farm laws.
Here are the Live Updates on farmer protests:
Farmers owning allegiance to the Bharti Kisan union (Rajewal) on Friday attempted to gherao the house of a Punjab BJP leader in Jalandhar where a function was being held on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Farmers tried to break barricades and police prevented them from doing so, following which a commotion took place in which headgears of some farmers were tossed up, police said.
.@narendramodi ji, if you are indeed so concerned for our farmers, why are their protests and genuine demands falling on your deaf ears?
High time you stop making statements only for your political agenda and try to resolve the crisis at hand!#ModiAgainstFarmers
– Dr. KakoliGDastidar (@kakoligdastidar) December 26, 2020
Delhi: Protesting farmers block main Delhi-Mohan Nagar road at UP Gate (Delhi-Ghaziabad border).
“NH-9 & NH-24 closed from Delhi to Ghaziabad due to farmers’ protests. People are advised to take alternate route for Ghaziabad via DND, ITO & Wazirabad,” tweets Delhi Traffic Police pic.twitter.com/ntnh4J7CFq
– ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2020
The three central farm laws have been implemented in Madhya Pradesh and there is no confusion over it, said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday. “Centre’s three farm Laws have been implemented in Madhya Pradesh, and there’s no confusion over it,” Shivraj Singh Chouhan told ANI. “In all 313 blocks of the state, we will organise training on three farm laws, so our farmers can understand these laws and learn how to benefit from them,” he added.
Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba) activists on Friday gheraoed local BJP leaders who had gathered at a hotel here to observe the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, forcing them to slip out from the backdoor under police protection. The protesters claimed that the hotel was owned by a BJP activist who also ran a company supplying cattle and chicken feed. They said they will boycott the company’s products.
Forty farm unions will hold a meeting today at 2 PM to chalk out their future course of action and take a decision on holding talks with the centre as the deadlock continues over the new agricultural laws. The agitation near Delhi borders, which began late November, has entered its 31st day. Read Here
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday said “farm-grabbers” may lose land that has been illegitimately taken away from farmers and not that of the agriculturists. He refuted the false rumours that the farmers will lose ownership of their land under the new farm laws. Participating in a special programme of PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi digitally addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Nagrota panchayat in Barnoti block, the minister said misgivings were sought to be spread even in Kathua district that the ownership and registry papers of farmers will be cancelled as per the new law.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday released ₹ 18,000 crore to over nine crore farmer families under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) programme. With the push of a button, PM Modi enabled the transfer of money at an event that the ruling BJP has made into a big exercise amid the protest by farmers against three new farm laws. “Some people are spreading myth and lies that land will be taken away if farmers enter into contract farming,” PM Modi said, alluding to the opposition’s attack that farmers won’t benefit from the three new farm laws, adding the centre is ready to hold another round of talks with farmers.
