End protest, come for talks: Tomar to farmers

July 22, 2021 18:59

With a group of farmers reaching Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to protest against the three new farm laws, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday urged them to leave the path of agitation and come for talks.

Tomar said farmers across the country have favoured the three farm laws.

After getting special permission from Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal, a group of 200 farmers reached Jantar Mantar -- adjacent to the Parliament Complex -- in central Delhi to protest against the Centre's three contentious farm laws amid the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament.

They have got permission to protest till August 9 amid heavy security.

Asked about the farmers' protest at Jantar Mantar, Tomar said, "I want to tell through you (media) that farmers should leave the path of protest and come for dialogue. We are ready for talks if they come with issues in the bills."

"...If they come with their proposal, we are ready to discuss," he told reporters.

Asserting that the government is sensitive towards farmers, the minister said in the last seven years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, major steps have been taken in the agriculture sector, the benefits of which are reaching cultivators across the country.

"The three farm bills are also a step in this direction. Farmers across the country have favoured the bills," he asserted.

Tomar, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, had reiterated that the government will remain open to discussions with protesting farmers' unions to resolve issues over the three agriculture laws passed by Parliament in September last year.

"The government has been engaged in serious, sensitive and active discussions with the farmers' unions to resolve the issues. During various rounds of discussions, the government continuously requested the farmers' unions to discuss the provisions of the farm laws, so that if there is an objection to any provision, the advancement can be made towards resolution of those," the minister had said.

But the farmers' unions insisted only on the repeal of the farm laws, he added.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at Delhi's borders for over seven months now in protest against the three laws. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Let The Election Games Begin!

Polling and police officers travel in a boat with election materials to reach to a remote polling station ahead of the first phase of India's general election in the Majuli district, Assam, April 18, 2024.

MI Vs PBKS: Who Bowled Best? Vote!

Bumrah, Coetzee and Patel all took three wickets each.

Kerala woman cadet onboard ship seized by Iran returns home

At the airport, Joseph was received by the regional passport officer.

SC sets aside T'gana HC order declaring 106 acre of forest land as private

The humans have "selective amnesia" about the significance of forests, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while advocating the need for a change in approach towards natural resources from anthropocentric to ecocentric.

'Sun will rise tomorrow!' Curran vows PBKS' turnaround

Stand-in captain Sam Curran lauded the efforts of Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh, who displayed remarkable composure in a high-pressure chase.