Farmers reject Amit Shah’s offer for talk, refuse to go to Burari protest site

www.mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Nov 29, 2020: Thousands of farmers dug in their heels at Delhi’s border points, their numbers swelling through the day as many more joined them, and hundreds gathered at the city’s Burari grounds on Saturday, disparate but united in their determination to hold protests against the new farm laws.

With many roads and entry points blocked, Union Home Minister Amit Shah appealed to the farmers to shift to the Burari ground and said the Centre is ready to hold discussions with them as soon as they move to the designated place.

He said a delegation of the farmers has been invited for discussion on December 3, adding now that some of their unions have demanded that talks be held immediately, the central government is ready to do so as soon as the protestors shift to the ground in Burari.

Delhi police after consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs had offered Sant Nirankari ground in North Delhi’s Burari to farmers to carry on their agitation. But many farmer groups continued to gather at Haryana-Delhi border roads overnight and refused to end their agitation before reaching central Delhi. Farmers protesting against the Centre’s recently passed three farm laws have expressed apprehension that the laws would pave a way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporates. They have demanded immediate talks with the Union government and an assurance about MSP in the laws.

Shah said even though Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar has already invited farmers for talks on December 3, the government was willing to meet them earlier too.