Published 17:04 IST, December 17th 2020
Amit Shah chairs key meet over farmers' protest; Tomar, Sitharaman & Goyal in the huddle
In the meeting that is currently underway at the BJP HQ, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman & Narendra Tomar are said to be present
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As the farmers' protest against the three contentious laws implemented by the Centre enters day 22, Union Home Minister Amit Shah called upon members of the Union Cabinet at the BJP headquarters in the national capital to discuss the further course of action. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Piyush Goyal and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were said to be present in the meeting on Thursday.
The meeting comes just a day after the Supreme Court's direction to implead 8 farmer unions as respondents in the petitions seeking the removal of protestors from the borders at the national capital. Piyush Goyal and Narendra Tomar have headed the six rounds of discussions with farmers' representatives which have ended inconclusively.
PM Modi to address farmers
Meanwhile, as a part of the BJP's massive outreach programme - Kissan Chaupal Sammelan - an attempt to apprise peasants of the benefits of the three farm laws introduced, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address farmers in Madhya Pradesh on Friday. PM Modi's address will be telecast in around 23,000 villages, according to official sources. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, along with his other ministers, will also participate in the event from Raisen district, they said. PM Modi's address will focus on a relief package of Rs 1,600 crore to be credited directly to 35 lakh farmers hit by damage to their crop. The Prime Minister has addressed the farmers on previous occasions as well assuring them of MSP and highlighting the Opposition's attempts to create confusion.
The farmers' unions remain undeterred in their demands seeking complete repeal of the three farm laws. The Union Agriculture Minister has remarked that the Centre is in touch with the unions to fix a date for the next round of discussions. However, the farmers' leaders have denied any reach out and are awaiting intimation. Unions from Haryana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh have met Tomar and extended their support to the bills amid the ongoing nationwide stir against the same laws. Recently, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Kisan) extended its support to the three laws and called off their agitation for the time being.
While the memorandum submitted to Tomar made it clear that the BKU (K) backs the three agricultural laws, it put forth some suggestions. For instance, it urged the Centre to draft another law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price, alleging that the middlemen purchase crops at a lower rate from farmers and sell it to the government at MSP. Furthermore, the union's leaders argued that farmers should be permitted to approach the civil courts for the resolution of disputes.
16:58 IST, December 17th 2020