Thousands of protesting farmers on Sunday rejected the proposal by the Centre to shift all agitation to Delhi’s Burari ground and lift the blockade at the borders, calling the offer of talks “conditional”. They further vowed to intensify their action against the three farm laws made by the Central government.
In a statement on Sunday, an umbrella group representing different farmers’ unions slammed the government for saying it would engage in talks with the farmers if they moved their protest off the roads into a designated stadium site.
“The government, if serious about addressing the demands of farmers, should stop laying down any conditions and should come straight out with the solution it is offering,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted that he was committed to the welfare of hardworking farmers, and the Centres’ new farm laws were a step in this direction.
Union and opposition leaders, however, were unmoved by PM Modi’s comments. The farmers have been instructed to stay put wherever they are till further instructions from their leaders. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said they have also decided to stay at Ghazipur. “We will not leave this spot. We will not move to Burari. The Centre should come forward and listen to the farmers,” he added.
Refusing to accept the Centre’s offer to shift to the Burari ground in north-west Delhi to hold their proposed protest against the three farm laws, thousands of farmers continued to rally for the third consecutive day on Sunday at Delhi’s three interstate border points.
As the farmers continued to protest peacefully by shouting slogans against the government at Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur entry/exit points on the Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Bahadurgarh and Delhi-Uttar Pradesh routes respectively, their numbers were swelling as more and more farmers were arriving at the spots.
The farmers were adamant on their demand that the Centre revoke the three farm laws to end the impasse, though they were not clear about their next course of action as leaders of multiple farmers’ unions were holding meetings since Sunday morning to decide on their future strategy.
Farmer Satbir Singh, a resident of Fatehgarh Sahib district in Punjab, told news agency IANS at the protest site that it was the “biggest revolution against the three farm laws enacted by the Central government”.
“Even the Punjabi diaspora in the US and Canada have come in support of the farmers’ protest. We will not move back an inch until and unless they repeal the laws. We will not go back until these draconian laws are done away with,” Satbir said. He asserted that a general consensus among the protesting farmers was to refuse the Union Home Minister’s offer to shift to the Burari ground before the government holds parleys with them. “We will not move from the Singhu and Kondli borders. The supply chain has been disrupted and the pressure is mounting on the government.”
