According to media reports, the Central government has agreed to meet the protesting farmers for talks on the new farm bills, without any conditions this time.This development comes after 32 farmers’ unions spearheading the anti-farm bill protests in Punjab aggressively since the last two months, assembled at the Delhi-Haryana Singhu border last evening to address the national press for the first time.

Together, they refused to accept home minister Amit Shah’s offers of protesting at the Nirankari ground in Burari. They said that they are refusing Shah’s offer for two reasons: One, because the home minister made the offer to them on a condition. And two, they believe that the ground in Burari is an “open jail”.

On November 28, Shah had told ANI that he had requested protesting farmers to move to Burari for their own convenience. But farmers, in a press conference a day later on November 29, said that Shah offered to hold talks with them on the condition of them moving to Burari first. According to the unions, they threw the ball in the Centre’s court by rejecting the offer and the condition.

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Narendra Tomar has repeatedly stressed in interviews to the ANI that the three farm bills will help the Indian farmer and even if some farmers feel it is not going to be in their favour, they are “ready to hold talks with them”.

Source: The Wire