The Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal on Wednesday urged the farmers protesting against the three agri laws to hold talks with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly, saying that dialogues will not yield results otherwise.
Reacting to the farmers’ unions’ meeting with the three central ministers on Wednesday, former Union minister and SAD MP from Bathinda Harsimrat Kaur Badal said they shouldn't fall into the trap of extended meetings, which yield nothing.
Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar also spoke in favour of holding direct talks with the PM, asserting that the involvement of the prime minister or Union home minister is a must for a successful dialogue.
“Our farmers are on the cusp of victory. I appeal to them to hold direct talks with the PM to get these agri laws repealed,” Badal tweeted.
“They shouldn't fall into the trap of extended meetings which yield nothing,” she added.
She appealed to the PM not to prolong the woes of the farmers protesting at the Delhi borders.
“People's will is supreme in a democracy,” the Bathinda MP said in another tweet, tagging Narendra Modi's Twitter handle.
Badal, whose party had quit the BJP-led NDA due to differences over the issue earlier this year, said had the Centre paid attention to her warnings about repercussions of the laws, things could not have come to such an impasse.
Meanwhile, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar said for talks to be successful, involvement of PM Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah is a must.
“After Amit Shah's intervention failing to resolve the issue, the next level of talks should have been with the PM. Strangely these have been downgraded to previous levels. For talks to be successful, involvement of the PM or HM is a must. Otherwise it's a futile exercise,” Jakhar said in a tweet.
The protesting farmers and three central ministers began their sixth round of talks on Wednesday afternoon to solve the over one-month impasse regarding the three new agri-marketing laws.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, an MP from Punjab, are holding the talks with the representatives of 41 farmer unions at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
