Farmers protesting the controversial new farm laws are ready to speak if the Center invites them, BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said on Sunday, saying the dialogue would resume where it left off on January 22 and that the demands remain. without changes.
He said that for the talks to resume, the government should invite the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body representing protesters camping at Delhi’s three border points in Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur since November 2020.
“The talks with the government would resume from the same point they ended on January 22. The demands are also the same: the three ‘black’ agricultural laws must be repealed, a new law made to guarantee the MSP (minimum price of support) for crops, “Tikait said in a statement issued by Dharmendra Malik, head of media at BKU.
The BKU national spokesperson comments came in response to Haryana Interior Minister Anil Vij, who urged Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to resume talks with protesting farmers amid fears over the looming coronavirus.
Resume talks with protesting farmers, Vij urges Tomar
Maintaining that an increase in coronavirus cases is being seen across the country and that the situation is also worsening in Haryana, Vij said he is concerned about farmers protesting at the state borders with Delhi.
Protesters and the government last held a formal dialogue on the contentious issue on January 22, but the stalemate continued. On January 26, protesters staged a ‘tractor parade’ in Delhi that escalated into violence involving farmers and police in the national capital.
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