Centre calls unions for meeting on December 30, says committed to resolve issues

28-12-2020

As the ongoing farmers� protest entered its 33rd day on Monday, Agriculture Ministry wrote to the farmers� unions requesting them to meet Centre on December 30, instead of December 29 (Tuesday) as suggested by the farmer leaders. In the letter, they said they are committed to resolving the issues faced by farmers over the three new laws. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off 100th Kisan Rail from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal via video conferencing at 4:30 pm. A 55-year-old Barnala-based farmer, Sukhdev Singh Gurm, died of heart attack while sitting on a dharna outside BJP district president Yadwinder Singh. Gurm was protesting outside Yadwinder�s since October 1. Social activist Anna Hazare has threatened to go on a hunger strike if his demands on issues concerning farmers are not met by the Union government by the end of January next year, and said that it would be his �last protest�, reported PTI. Hazare said he had been holding protests for cultivators since the last three years, but the government has done nothing to resolve the issues. Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Monday said the government should listen to the farmers and take back the farm laws. �It is a sin to use the kind of words they are using for farmers. Government is answerable to farmers. Government should listen to them and take back the laws,� she tweeted. On Sunday, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar described the farm unions� decision to return to the negotiation table as �good step� and expressed hope that a solution would be found to the stalemate over the new farm laws through discussions. �Main ummeed karta hoon ki kisan paristhiti aur kanoon ki sachchai ko samajhenge, vaarta hogi, aur uska samadhaan niklega (I hope that the farmers will appreciate the situation and the reality of the law; talks will take place, and a solution will be found),� Tomar told.