India / Ask senior citizens, children at protest site to go home: Tomar to farmers

New Delhi: During the fifth round of talks on the farm laws, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday requested farmer leaders to ask senior citizens and children at the protest sites to go home.

The farmers' agitation at Delhi borders and national capital entered the tenth day today with a large number of farmers gathered in and around the national capital to protest against the three farm laws. Many senior citizens and children have also joined the farmers in their agitation.

"I appeal to all of you to kindly ask senior citizens and children at the protest site to go home," Tomar said while requesting the farmer leaders present in the meeting on farm laws.

Farmer leaders did not accept the request of the minister and said, "We have supplies to last a year. We have been on the road for the past several days. If the government wants us to stay on the road, we have no problem. We won't take the path of violence. Intelligence Bureau will inform you what we are doing at protest site."

"We do not want corporate farming. The government will benefit from this law and not the farmer," they added.

Threatening to leave the meeting with the government, the leaders said, "The government should make a decision on our demands. Otherwise, we are walking out of the meeting."

A written reply of the minutes of the last meeting was given to the farmers after farmers' representatives asked the Government to give a point-wise written reply.

Tomar and Union Food and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal are leading the talks with the farmer groups.

Ahead of the talks at Vigyan Bhawan, senior leaders including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other ministers met and briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On December 3, the farmers held the fourth round of talks with the Centre and said the government had talked of bringing some amendments to farm laws. In the fourth round of the meeting, farmer leaders suggested the government to hold a special session of the Parliament and sought the abolition of the three farm laws.

Meanwhile, a nationwide shutdown has been called by the protesting farmers on December 8.

The farmers are protesting against the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.