Farmers' Protest: Farmers Threaten To Block Railway Tracks, Step Up Agitation; Govt Urges To Continue Talks | Top Highlights

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar yesterday said that the government is open for further discussions with farmers and they should end their agitation.

New Delhi: Farmers at Singhu border during their ongoing protest against the Center's new farm laws, in New Delhi, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. (PTI Photo/Arun Sharma)(PTI10-12-2020_000183A)

Farmers' Protest: The ongoing protest of farmers at Delhi’s border has entered sixteenth continuous day but the deadlock between the Centre and farmers remains unaffected. Even as the Centre has time and again said it is ready for talks, the farmer unions are adamant on complete rollback of the three contentious farm laws of the Centre. They have threatened to take the agitation to the next level by blocking the tracks, sealing Delhi entry points and nationwide protest. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar yesterday said that the government is open for further discussions with farmers and they should end their agitation. He said it was not proper to announce the next stage of agitation when talks were continuing and urged the unions to return to the discussion table. Here are the top developments:

• Farmers announced that they will block railway tracks if their demands are not met by the government.
• Farmer unions held a meeting on Thursday, said they will soon announce a date for blocking tracks across the country.
• They also reiterated that they will intensify their agitation and start blocking all highways leading to the national capital.
• In a conference on Thursday, Narendra Singh Tomar said that the government is open for further discussions with farmers and they should end their agitation.
• The government had on Wednesday proposed to give a "written assurance" that the existing MSP regime for procurement will continue.
• Also, the government gave assurances on tax parity and the court process, the other demands.
• The other demands included repealing the Electricity Amendment Act, 2020; withdrawal of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020; withdrawal of cases registered against activists and protesters; reduction in fine imposed on stubble burning; special Parliament session to repeal new laws and implementation of Swaminathan Commission report to fix MSP.
• However, the farmers' unions rejected the proposal and said they would intensify their agitation until the government accepts their demand for a complete repeal of the three laws.
• Farmers said they would block entry points to Delhi on December 12, and later hold a nationwide protest
• At the same time, the farmers were ready to continue with the discussion with the Centre. "We are not responsible for the deadlock. The government is responsible for it," said a statement by BKU Ekta Dakaunda.