Protests will continue until agri laws are repealed, assert farmer unions after meeting with Centre

As the agitation against the farm laws entered 40th day, farmer unions on Monday pressed for a complete rollback of the contentious laws at the eighth meeting with the Centre and said that the protests will continue if the acts are not withdrawn.

"Discussion took place on our demands -- repeal of the three laws and MSP... Kannon wapasi nahi, to ghar wapasi nahi (We will not go home until the laws are withdrawn)," Rakesh Tikait, spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Union told after the meeting held at Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan this evening.

Hannan Mollah, General Secretary, All India Kisan Sabha said that they don't want a discussion on any other topic except for rollback of farm laws.

"The government is under tremendous pressure. We all said that this is our demand (repeal of the laws). We don't want a discussion on any other topic except for on repealing of the laws. Protests will not be withdrawn until laws are withdrawn," Mollah said.

Yudhvir Singh, Bhartiya Kisan Union said that they rejected the government's request to discuss laws point-wise.

"The minister wanted us to discuss the law point-wise. We rejected it and said that there is no point in discussing the laws because we want a complete rollback of the laws. The government intends to take us towards amendments but we will not accept it," he said.

Farmer leader Darshan Pal, who also attended the meeting, told the reporters: "The government has now understood that farmer orgsations do not want any discussion without repealing the agricultural laws. We told that the government we will accept these acts we will not accept."

After the eighth round of talks, the Centre could not reach any "solution" as the farmer unions remained "adamant" over repealing of three farm laws, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said after the meeting on Monday.

"We wanted farmer unions to discuss three laws clause-wise. We could not reach any solution as farmer unions remained adamant on the repeal of the laws," Tomar told reporters here this evening at Vigyan Bhawan.

However, the minister said he is "hopeful" that a conclusion will be found in the next round of talks which will be held on January 8 at 2 pm.

Union Ministers Tomar, Piyush Goyal and Som Parkash along with government officials and representatives of farmers also observed a two-minute silence for farmers who died during the ongoing protest.

Earlier, Tikait had claimed that 60 farmers have so far lost their lives during the ongoing agitation. He further said that one farmer is dying every 16 hours and it is the government's responsibility to give an answer.Farmers have been protesting at the gates of Delhi since November 26 last year against the newly enacted farm laws -- Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance, and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

( With inputs from ANI )