Farmers reject Centre’s offer to defer the 3 laws

Farmers unions  on Thursday rejected the Centre’s offer to keep the contentious farm laws in abeyance and pressed on with their demand for repeal of the laws and an alternative tractor parade on Republic Day.

After hours of discussing the proposal, the 500 farmers’ organisations under the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) gathered at Singhu on Delhi’s border, and the protesters announced that they will stand firm on their demand for a total repeal of the laws.

“In a full general body meeting of the SKM today, the proposal put forth by the government was rejected. A full repeal of the three central farm Acts and enacting a legislation for a remunerative MSP for all farmers were reiterated as the pending demands of the movement,” said Darshan Pal on behalf of the SKM  in the evening.

The farmers’ representatives  will convey their decision to the Centre at a meeting scheduled for noon on Friday.

Pal said the SKM has also asked the Delhi police to let them conduct their tractor rally on R-Day.

“In the meeting held with the police officials, the police requested us not to conduct the parade in Delhi, while the farmers restated their plan about doing the parade on the Outer Ring Road,” he said. Different protest programmes are being planned in State capitals that day, he added.

The Supreme Court had, on Wednesday, refused to prevent the farmers’ tractor rally on  Republic Day, saying the onus is on Delhi police. In the wake of the top court’s refusal to get involved in an executive decision, the Centre had come up with a new proposal to put the contentious farm laws in abeyance for up to two years and form a joint committee to discuss the laws clause-wise as also the MSP.

The Centre had said it was ready to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court to this effect to dispel any doubt.

But the farmers want the government to repeal the  farm laws.

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