Agitating Farmers Agree For Talks On Dec 29, Will Hold Tractor March On Dec 30 If Discussion Fails | Top Developments

The farmers said the agenda of the meeting on December 29 includes their demand for withdrawing the three farm laws and if the government fails to carry out a conclusive discussion then the unions will hold a tractor march on Dec 30 from the Singhu border.

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New Delhi: The protesting farmer unions have agreed for the 6th round of talks on December 29 to end the deadlock between farmers and the Centre. Farmers have been protesting at the Delhi for more than a month now still and have 5 rounds of talks with the centre which remained inconclusive. The farmers have also said they will hold a tractor march from the Singhu border on December 30th if the government does not talk of repealing the farm laws during proposed talks on Tuesday. The protesting farmers, who have been camping at several border points in Delhi and neighbouring states are seeking the removal of the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance, and Farm Service Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. Here are the top developments:

• • Rakesh Tikait, Spokesperson, Bhartiya Kisan Union alleged that he received a life threatening phone call.“It was a phone call from Bihar. They were threatening to kill me with arms. I’ve forwarded the recording to the police captain. They will do what is needed to be done next,” he said.

It was a phone call from Bihar. They were threatening to kill me with arms. I've forwarded the recording to the police captain. They will do what is needed to be done next: Rakesh Tikait, Spokesperson, Bhartiya Kisan Union, on receiving life threatening phone call pic.twitter.com/FxNffCRi2L

— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2020

• BJP lone Rajasthan ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) walked out of the ruling National Democratic Alliance on Saturday amid massive farmers’ agitation over the new agri-marketing laws, the second NDA constituent to do so after the Shiromani Akali Dal. RLP leader and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal announced the decision while addressing farmers at a rally in Shahjahanpur in Alwar district.
• "PM Modi says only farmers from Haryana and Punjab are protesting, but we have farm union leaders from 10 states here with us right now. We request the government to allow a good environment for discussion. The kind of speech PM Modi gave was not right to create a good environment for talks," a farmer leader told reporters at a press conference on Saturday.
• At Saturday's press conference, farmer leader Darshan Pal said they will hold tractor march on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) highway on December 30. "We request people from Delhi and other parts of country to come and celebrate New Year with protesting farmers," Pal said.
• PM Narendra Modi will flag off the 100th "Kisan Rail" from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal on December 28 via video-conferencing, his office said on Saturday. The multi-commodity train service will carry vegetables such as cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, drumstick, chilli and onion as well as fruits like grape, orange, pomegranate, banana and custard apple, it added. Loading and unloading of perishable commodities will be permitted at all stoppages en route with no bar on the size of consignment, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said, adding that the Centre has extended a 50-per cent subsidy on the transportation of fruits and vegetables.
• Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday alleged that the Congress is spreading misinformation on the new agriculture laws and creating a sense of fear among farmers across the country, while the BJD is supporting such activities. He claimed that the new farm laws were aimed at making farmers self-reliant.
• The Trinamool Congress on Saturday claimed that its digital media campaign against the Narendra Modi government's policy towards the farming community has got a huge response on Twitter. The #ModiAgainstFarmers, the hashtag with which the party aims at highlighting "the rising crimes against farmers" of the country, has trended on Twitter, the TMC said in a statement. TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday spoke to farmers protesting near Delhi against three new farm laws of the Centre and assured them that her party stands by them, a TMC leader said.
• Braving the biting cold, hundreds of farmers stayed put at the Delhi-Noida border near Chilla on Saturday night in protest against the three recent farm laws of the Centre even as other agitating farmers returned home for night stay. During the day, farmers' groups from various Western Uttar Pradesh districts visited the border, joined demonstrations.