New Delhi: The leaders of Punjab farmers unions said that the meeting between farmers' body and union ministers ended inconclusively on Friday evening.
Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar held a meeting with farmers from Punjab at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The meeting lasted seven hours but saw no immediate breakthroughs.
According to reports, Union leaders said they will now hold a meeting in Chandigarh on November 18 to decide their next course of action.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, Balbir Singh Rajewal, leader, Bharti Kisan Union-Ekta, said, "On November 18, farmers will hold a meeting in Chandigarh. Pollution in Delhi was not caused by Punjab farmers. As the government is accusing farmers of the Delhi pollution, we will take action on it. For this, the farmers will stage a sit-in demonstration on 26 November in Delhi. We have been assured that new farm laws will not have any impact on MSP procurement and mandi system."
"We presented our demands to the government and they listened to us, but did not have any answers. We want the laws to be repealed and a new law to be enacted establishing our right to government procurement at minimum support prices. This is not a struggle of Punjab farmers alone, but of farmers across the country," Rajewal said.
Notably, Punjab farmers have been observing 'rail-roko' protest against the laws, passed by the central government in September. Amid the protests, the Railways Ministry suspended goods railway services, reports said.
Even, Punjab Chief Minister launched a 'dharna' at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on November 4 over the issue of suspending the goods railways services in Punjab. Chief Minister has said that the central government is behaving like a 'step-mother'.
However, the Railways has stated that they are ready to back on track in Punjab as soon as the state government ensures them safety at tracks to run the trains, reports added.
Meanwhile, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the Centre will hold another round of discussion with Punjab farmers protesting against new farm laws amid differences on certain issues.
He also said that train services will resume after the state government and protesting farmer unions assure the safety of the tracks.
