Various farmer organizations have staged statewide protests against the new farm laws.
Chandigarh:
Several Punjab farmer bodies on Wednesday rejected the Union Agriculture Department’s invitation to a meeting on the new farm laws, saying they would not talk to anyone less than the agriculture minister Union on the matter.
Restless farmers’ organizations have rejected the Union Agriculture Secretary’s invitation for talks, saying an officer does not have to tell them whether these laws are good for farmers.
“The invitation for talks should come from the Union Agriculture Minister,” said Buta Singh Burjgill, president of the Bhartiya Kisan (Dakunda) Union.
Farmers’ organizations also rejected the call launched by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to ease their “rail roko” agitation to allow freight trains to pass through the state, a decision described as “regrettable” by the minister. chief.
Farmers’ organizations also issued an ultimatum to the chief minister to call an extraordinary session of the Punjab assembly to pass a resolution rejecting these agricultural laws within a week, otherwise, they said, they said. gherao congressional leaders and government officials.
The chief minister, however, said his government could not be forced to take hasty action by ultimatums.
Various farmer organizations have staged statewide protests against the new farm laws.
Farmers’ organizations rejected the Centre’s invitation to speak to it, saying that an officer does not have to tell them whether the three central laws are beneficial to them.
“We are rejecting the letter of invitation to a meeting from an officer (secretary) of the Department of Agriculture. We will not speak to any officer. We are ready for discussions provided that an appropriate and written invitation come from the central government, “said a representative of a farmers’ organization.
The farmers said a secretary-rank officer in the Union’s agriculture department invited five to six farmer leaders to attend a “conference to address their concerns” on October 8 in Delhi.
“If an officer wants to tell us about the benefits of these laws, we are not going to hear him because we know that these laws are against the farming community,” said Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of the Union Bhartiya Kisan (Dakunda) .
Asked about Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s call to tone down their “rail-roko”, the farmer leaders said they would continue with it.
“We are farmers and we know farming practices very well. We know
when DAP or urea is needed, ”said another farmer leader.
“Electricity is bought outside and the paddy planting season is already over,” he added.
The farmers, however, said they would consider the chief minister’s appeal at the next meeting on October 15.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Singh lamented farmers’ decision to ignore his call to allow divine trains to pass through the state.
“It is regrettable that by not letting go of their agitation, these organizations have harmed the interests of farmers as well as the State”, reacted the Chief Minister.
“The state government urgently needs to transport food grains, coal, fertilizers and oil as a priority, in addition to removing paddy from mandis,” he said, urging unions to farmers not to endanger the interests of farmers by their decision.
The chief minister, in a statement, said if current stocks of wheat and rice were not pulled from the margins, there would be no more storage capacity for the next harvest.
He noted that the state’s coal stocks were critical, and if not replenished quickly, there would be severe power shortages, hampering wheat planting operations.
Amarinder Singh also pointed out that with low fertilizer stocks, potato seedlings would also be affected.
Along with the blockades at gas stations, the flow of oil was also affected, which would impact the movement of tractors and agricultural products, the chief minister said.
The chief minister also rejected a week-long ultimatum from farmers’ unions for holding a special assembly to overturn farm laws, saying he would do what he deemed necessary for the interests of farmers.
While he had previously said he would convene a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to make the necessary amendments, issuing ultimatums is not the way to force a government to take hasty action, the CM said.
The threat of unions to gherao his residence or the homes of ministers of state and congressional leaders would not force him to make a decision that could possibly prove detrimental to the interests of farmers, he said.
