India / Protesting farmers bang utensils during PM Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat'

New Delhi: As the protests against the Central government’s contentious new agricultural reforms continue to intensify in the national capital, large groups of farmers at the Singhu and Ghazipur borders Sunday began banging utensils during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio address.

On Sunday morning, large processions of farmers camping along Delhi’s borders were seen marching, while striking utensils and chanting slogans against PM Modi and the Central government.

Earlier this week, several farmer leaders had appealed to people around the country to join them in boycotting PM Modi’s radio programme on December 27 by beating ‘thaalis’, in the same way the Prime Minister had asked the country to bang utensils during the early days of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Farmers at Singhu border have started banging utensils. pic.twitter.com/bAchNd9YA1

— Sandeep Singh (@PunYaab) December 27, 2020

While announcing their next move, farmer leader Jagjeet Singh Dalewala said that toll collection would be halted on highways in Haryana between December 25 and 27, PTI reported. He had also urged people to skip a meal in solidarity with the protesting farmers on Wednesday on the occasion of National Farmers’ Day.

“From December 25 to 27 all toll booths in Haryana will not be allowed by us to collect toll, we will halt them from doing so. On December 27, our prime minister will say his ‘Mann ki baat’ and we want to appeal to the people to beat ‘thalis’ during his address, the same way the PM had asked the country to bang utensils for coronavirus,” the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader told reporters.

On Saturday, the protesting farmer unions decided to resume the dialogue with the Centre and proposed December 29 as the date for the next round of talks, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said.

So far, five rounds of talks have already taken place between the protesting farmers and the government, but a stalemate has continued with farmers refusing to accept anything less than a total repeal of the the three laws in question, which they fear would leave them at the mercy of corporates by weakening mandi and MSP systems.