Ahead of the fourth round of talks between the Farmers' Unions and the Government of India, All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee general secretary Hannan Mollah said that they will continue to protest till the Centre revokes the three contentious farm laws and the electricity bill.
This comes after the third round of talks ended inconclusively on Tuesday as the representatives of the farmers' union rejected the Centre's proposal to set up a committee.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, the CPM politburo member said, "The government is trying to create confusion, but we only have one simple demand. These laws are a death knell for the farmers. During the meeting, the government said that they can't repeal the laws."
If the government can strike down 74 labour laws, why can't they do the same with farm laws, he asked.
Thousands of farmers poured into various Delhi borders for the seventh consecutive day, protesting against the new farm laws, which they fear will dismantle the minimum support price system and corporatise farming.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar after the meeting requested the farmers to bring clause-by-clause objections to the new farm laws so that their concerns could be addressed.
Terming the government's call for talks a gimmick, Mollah added, "We don't have any hopes. The government's attitude is not right. The Union Minister has asked us to pen down a detailed critique of the laws. We have been staging protests since last year. Over the course of time, over 1 lakh letters and emails have been sent to the Prime Minister, how can he be still unaware of the problem. One can amend clauses if one or two are faulty but all the clauses are against the farmers. There's no scope that by amendment this law can be improved".
Accusing the government of trying to paint the protest in regional colours, he said, "We will continue this stir till our demands are met. There will be chacka jam across India on December 3. The Centre is trying to portray it as only Punjab's agitation, in reality, it's India's agitation led by the farmers in Punjab. The laws will have an impact on every farmer across the country."