Farmers still adamant on their demands after PM's invitation for talks

Several rounds of talks have taken place between the representatives of the Central government and the farmers' organisations but no breakthrough has been achieved. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them to end their stir and invited them to resume the dialogue.

New Delhi: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation for farmers for talks to resolve their issues, the agitating farmer unions are still adamant over their demands and several farmers denied to hold negotiations on the MSP issues.

Several rounds of talks have taken place between the representatives of the Central government and the farmers' organisations but no breakthrough has been achieved. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged them to end their stir and invited them to resume the dialogue.

ETV Bharat reached the agitating farmers and the United Kisan Morcha at the Singhu Border and interacted with Jai Kisan Movement leader Gurbakhsh Singh Barnala and the farmers.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Gurbakhsh Singh Barnala said, "Just as a private telecom company initially introduced the entire market by offering free incentives to the people and brought a government company like BSNL to the brink of closure, similarly the private sector companies are coming to the agriculture sector. If those companies will sign a contract with the farmers, then the same will happen to them."

"Initially, these companies will lure farmers into their trap and then exploit them. After the BJP, now the Congress has also started trying to discredit their movement. If the demands of the farmers are not accepted, then this movement can continue till 2024," Barnala said.

"When the movement started, the farmers had come with at least 6 months of preparations and now seeing the government's stance, the Jatbandis have prepared for a long struggle. The United Kisan Morcha also announced the program ahead of the movement, which includes the rail stop program across the country on February 18," he added.

Notably, while addressing the Upper House, PM appealed the protesting farmers to withdraw their stir and give the new agriculture reform laws a chance. He urged the protesters to beware of the foreign entities who are enemies of India. The prime minister warned the country against the new FDI that now stands for "Foreign Destructive Ideology".