4 yıl önce

India tractor rally looms as talks between farmers and Modi govt fail

Hundreds of thousands of farmers are planning to drive tractors through New Delhi on Republic Day, when PM Narendra Modi will join a parade of military forces.

AP

Indian farmers listen to their leader as they continue to block highway leading to Delhi in protest against new farm laws, at Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, India, on January 22, 2021.

Indian farmers have rejected an offer by the government to defer three farm laws for one-and-half years, warning they would step up protests as they seek a complete repeal of the laws and a guarantee of minimum crop prices.

Farm leaders on Friday said hundreds of thousands of farmers from the neighbouring states including Haryana, Punjab, and western Uttar Pradesh will drive tractors through New Delhi on January 26, the Republic Day national holiday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join a military parade.

Although some former government officials have expressed concern that the protests could turn violent, the leaders said they would remain peaceful and urged the police to grant permission for the convoy to enter the capital.

Talks deadlocked

The 11th round of talks between government officials led by Agricultural Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and 40 farm leaders earlier on Friday was inconclusive.

Farmers stuck to their demands while the government urged them to consider its offer to hold discussions to address their concerns after deferring the laws.

"There is a sort of deadlock as the government repeated the offer of deferring the laws, which is not acceptable," Darshan Pal, one of the farm leaders told reporters after the meeting.

Modi's government has said that the laws introduced in September will unshackle farmers from the obligation of selling produce only at regulated wholesale markets.

But the farmers say the bills are designed to benefit private buyers.

Tomar said the government was committed to the reforms.

"If (farm leaders) agree with our proposal, we can meet tomorrow," he said.

Two months of protests

Shiv Kumar Kakkar, a farmer leader, complained that police have been issuing threats to the farmers to call off their protest.

Hundreds of thousands of farmers have been camping on the outskirts of the national capital for nearly two months, blocking some of the roads connecting New Delhi with neighbouring states.

Supporting the farmers, the main opposition Congress party said on Friday that the government had shown "shocking insensitivity and arrogance" towards farmers and urged it to accept their demands.