Though the agriculture secretary was present to the meeting, farmers demanded that the union agriculture minister should also be present.
The meeting arranged between 30 representatives of protesting farmer bodies from Punjab with the government regarding the contentious farm bills had an abrupt end today after farmers left the meeting due to the absence of union agriculture minister Narendra Tomar. After the centre called the meeting, the farmers had agreed yesterday to attend it.
Though the agriculture secretary was present to the meeting, farmers demanded that the union agriculture minister should also be present.
The farmers, upset over minister’s absence, started raising slogans inside the ministry and tore up copies of the contentious farm laws. Their agitation against the new laws will continue, the said.
After protesting against the contentious farm bills for months, the farmers’ groups decided at a meeting in Chandigarh yesterday to enter discussions with the Centre. These bodies supported by opposition parties, including the Congress, have been demanding scrapping of the new laws.
The Bharatiya Kisan Union, or BKU (Ugrahan), the biggest of these groups, did not attend yesterday’s meeting, had also decided to join forces at today’s talks.
“We weren’t satisfied with the discussions, so we walked out. We want these black laws to be scrapped. The Secretary said he will communicate our demands further,” a farmers’ leader was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“We walked out as no minister came for the meeting. We want these laws to be taken back,” said another leader.
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