Union Ministers Amit Shah, Narendra Singh Tomar hold talks with JP Nadda on farmers' issue

Union ministers Amit Shah and Narendra Singh Tomar held a meeting at BJP president JP Nadda's residence on late Sunday night to discuss the ongoing farmers' protests, sources said.

Union ministers Amit Shah and Narendra Singh Tomar held a meeting at BJP president JP Nadda's residence on late Sunday night to discuss the ongoing farmers' protests, sources said. Farmers have been protesting at various places in Delhi and Haryana and have rejected the central government's offer to hold talks on December 3 saying that imposing conditions for starting a dialogue is an insult to them.

"There was an offer from the central government for negotiation to resolve our issue. We have decided not to accept the proposal because there was a condition in it asking farmers sitting on the road to vacate the roads and move to Burari. We cannot accept this demand. The condition put forward for talks is an insult to farmers," said Surjeet Singh Phul, Punjab State President of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), while addressing media on the Singhu border (Delhi-Haryana) on Sunday afternoon. He further claimed that Nirankari Samagam Ground in Delhi's Burari provided by the Central government to the protesters to stage demonstrations is an "open jail".

"We've decided that we'll never go to Burari Park as we got proof that it's an open jail. Delhi Police told Uttarakhand Farmer Association president that they'll take them to Jantar Mantar but instead locked them at Burari Park," alleged Surjeet Singh Phul. "Our main demand is that we want a guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) in the laws. We also want assurance of government procurement in the laws. But what the government offered us was a conditional letter. The government needs to have a big heart," the farmer leader added.

He apologized for the "unintentional misconduct" with some media persons in the past three days and added that from today, to avoid such situations in the future, protesting farmers will release a "press note". "If a person talks to the media here, it will be his individual statement. We've decided that we won't allow any political party leader to speak on our stage, be it Congress, BJP, AAP, or other parties. Our committee will allow other organizations, which are supporting us, to speak if they follow our rules," he added.

Earlier, while talking to ANI, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar asked the farmer's unions to "create an atmosphere" for talks, saying the government is open to dialogue. "Government has proposed to meet on December 3 for the fourth time. So, talks are already going on, nobody should think the government isn't ready for it. Government is open to talks. Farmers' unions should create an atmosphere for it. They should leave agitation and choose talks," said Tomar.

Around 32 farmer bodies, mostly from Punjab, and a few farmers from Gujarat and Maharashtra as well managed to reach Delhi on Friday and assembled at the border areas to continue their protest. The farmers are protesting against The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that the central government is ready for talks with the farmers' unions on December 3. (ANI)

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