Farmers indicated that they would be taking part in Tuesday's talks proposed by the government amid reports that defence minister Rajnath Singh would be leading discussions in the presence of Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
"The government has invited us without preconditions and we're going for the talks. About 35 representatives will go, and we will demand the laws be repealed. We will also demand a law on MSP. If the government doesn't agree, the protests will continue," Jagjit Singh Dallewal of the Bharatiya Kisan Union said after holding a meeting among themselves, according to ndtv.com.
Rajnath is understood to have met Union home minister Amit Shah and Tomar on Tuesday morning to discuss modalities of the talks during which the government would try and convince farmers about the benefits of the new farm laws. The government, however, was likely to tell the protesters that the laws would not be repealed, ndtv.com, quoting high-level sources, reported.
Earlier, one of the 32 farmer unions invited for talks backed out and demanded that representatives of all 500 organisations that were part of protests be invited.
General secretary of Punjab-based farmers' outfit Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) Sarwan Singh Pandher said the government was trying to divide the protesters by not inviting all the unions. "A committee of several farmers' bodies has not been invited and moreover, the Prime Minister is not holding this meeting. Because of these reasons, KMSC is not going to attend the meeting," KMSC general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said.
"If 32 Punjab-based farmers' bodies have been invited (for talks), a committee representing around 500 farmers' organisations is also there which should have also been invited," he said. according to PTI.
"By not inviting all farmers' bodies, an attempt is being made to divide the farmer organisations. If we attend the meeting, it will be presumed that this agitation (against farm laws) is only taking place in Punjab which could be the conspiracy of the Centre," he claimed.
Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that these farm laws are in the interest of the farming community, Pandher said, "He (the PM) has already given his decision before the meeting. And now, no minister can go against the PM."
Thousands of farmers stayed put at various Delhi border points for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday protesting against the new agriculture laws, which they fear will dismantle the minimum support price system and corporatise farming.
On Monday, farmers practically told the Prime Minister off, saying they had been hearing his Mann ki Baat (monthly radio address) for over six years and it was time he heard their “mann ki baat” (words from the heart), else his party and government would pay a heavy price.
In his Mann ki Baat broadcast on Sunday, Modi had lauded the new farm laws as pro-farmer while mentioning not a word about the agitation against them.
Jagmohan Singh of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda), among the most respected farmer leaders in Punjab, described the Modi government as authoritarian and fascist.
“Yeh aar paar ki ladai hai (This a fight to the finish),” he said while briefing the media at the Singhu border between Delhi and Haryana on the GT Karnal Road.
Singh said what had upset the farmers most was the government’s refusal to even talk about the issue they see as non-negotiable — the repeal of the three new farm laws.
He said this was not a protest by farmers from one state — Punjab — or one religion — Sikhism — as was being portrayed by the government and its supporters.
“There is no question of withdrawing; we will stay put,” Singh said.
Modi on Monday suggested that the farmers were suspicious of his government’s farm policies because they had been cheated by past governments.
