New Delhi: Punjab’s farmers’ organisations, who have been protesting against the new farm laws, on Sunday said the Centre has once again invited them for talks on the issue on October 14. The Central government has invited at least 20 farmers' organisation to New Delhi.
A decision on whether to accept the invitation will be taken at a meeting in Jalandhar on October 13, they said.
Chief Secretary of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Ministry Sanjay Agarwal in a letter to farmers wrote, "The Agricultural department is keen to meet the farmers' organisation and discuss the farm acts. We invite 20 farmers on October 14 in New Delhi's to Ministry Headquarters."
Earlier too, the protesting farmers were invited for talks with the Central government on October 7 but they rejected it. The farmers' body was of the view that the government is not taking this matter seriously and had also warned Congress leaders that they should pass a resolution in a special assembly session to scrap these contentious laws. Farmers had also warned the opposition that they will boycott them if they did not address their grievances.
Meanwhile, the meeting of All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee which was supposed to be convened today has been deferred to October 14.
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The farmers’ organisations, whose agitation against the farm laws has disrupted rail traffic and severely impacted coal supply for thermal power plants in Punjab, had last week rejected the Union Agriculture Department’s invitation to participate in a “conference to address their concerns” on October 8.
“We have received an invitation for a meeting on October 14,” said Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda).
“Though the invite has come from the agriculture secretary, it mentions that the central government wants to talk to farmers,” he said.
“All farmers’ organisations will decide whether to go to Delhi for talks in a meeting slated for October 13 in Jalandhar,” he added.
Farmers in Punjab have been demanding that these three laws be repealed.
They have been holding a ‘rail roko’ agitation against the “anti-farmer” laws, with protesters squatting on railway tracks at various places in the State since September 24.
Farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws will destroy the minimum support price mechanism, end Agricultural Produce Market Committees and allow corporates to arm-twist them.
The government, however, has been saying that these laws, which were passed by Parliament recently amid a vociferous Opposition protest, will raise farmers’ income, free them from the clutches of the middleman and usher in new technology in farming.
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