Govt's Proposal Rejected! Farmers Call Nationwide Dharna On Dec 14; To Block Remaining Delhi Highways | 10 Points

Rejecting the offering, several farmer leaders stated that there was nothing new it government's draft proposal and vowed to intensify their agitation.

(BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikiat addresses media after a meeting with representatives of farmer organizations regarding the Centre's farm reform laws, near Singhu border. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Expressing distress over not getting the desired response from the Centre to their demands, thousands of agitating farmers on Wednesday rejected government's draft proposal which reportedly offered amendments in the new agri laws and a "written assurance" on continuing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system. Rejecting the offering, several farmer leaders stated that there was nothing new it government's draft proposal and vowed to intensify their agitation by blocking key highways connection the national capital. The farmers also threatened to hold a nationwide protest on December 14. After Union Home Minister Amit Shah's meeting with farmer leaders on Tuesday night, the government on Wednesday sent the proposal offering to make necessary amendments on at least seven issues, including one to allay fears about the weakening of the mandi system. As government and farmers are still engaged in deadlock over the new farm laws, it is not clear if and when the two sides will meet again to resolve the standoff. Farmers' Protest: 10 Key Development Of The Day 1. Addressing a press conference, farmer leader Shiv Kumar Kakka said there was nothing new in the government's proposal, and that it was "completely rejected" by the 'Sanyukta Kisan Committee' in its meeting held on Wednesday. 2. Farmer leaders also said that government's offer was nothing bubt an "insult" to the farmers and they would intensify their agitation by blocking the Jaipur-Delhi and the Delhi-Agra expressways by Saturday, and escalate it to a nationwide protest on December 14 when they will "gherao" BJP ministers and boycott party leaders. 3. In its draft proposal, government stated that an amendment can be made wherein state governments can register the traders operating outside mandis, news agency PTI reported. It also mentioned that states can also impose tax and cess as they used in APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) mandis on them. 4. On apprehensions about the scrapping of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime and shifting of trade to private players, the government said it is ready to give a written assurance that the existing MSP will continue, the report added. 5. On fears that big corporates will take over farmlands, the government said it has already been made clear in the laws, but still, for clarity's sake, it can be written that no buyer can take loans against farmland nor any such condition will be made to farmers. About the demand for scrapping the proposed Electricity Amendment bill 2020, the government said there won't be any change in the existing system of electricity bill payment for farmers. 6. Separately, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said at a post-Cabinet media briefing that the government is sensitive to the concerns of farmers as he expressed hope that ongoing deliberations with them, which he termed a "work in progress", over the three agriculture-related laws will yield some results soon. 7. Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar met Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the next course of action after farmer leaders rejected the Centre's draft proposal. Minister of Railways and Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal was also present in the meeting. 8. Meanwhile, after blocking the Singhu, Tikri, Chilla and Ghazipur borders connecting Delhi to Chandigarh, Haryana, Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) respectively, the farmers said that they will now block the Delhi-Jaipur highway that connects the national capital to Rajasthan.  9. The move will disrupt Delhi's supply chain from another direction as the farmers have planned to block the National Highway 48 that starts from Delhi and connects with Rajasthan via Haryana. The decision was taken in the farmers' meeting at Singhu border where thousands of farmers are braving the winter nights under open skies since November 26. 10. The farmer leaders said that the protest would be carried out across the nation and the nearby states from Delhi on December 14 under the 'Delhi Chalo Dharna'. Bharatiya Kisan Union national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said all the farmers unions agreed on these points and that the "government's proposal is unacceptable to us".