CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: A day before their scheduled meeting with the Centre, farmer unions from Punjab and Haryana on Wednesday said the government should call a special session of Parliament to nullify the new farm legislations, which they describe as “black laws”.
They asserted that the farmer representatives will raise point-wise objections to every clause of the laws in the meeting on Thursday. The unions also announced that farmers across the country will burn effigies of PM Narendra Modi on December 5. Addressing a press conference at the Singhu border in New Delhi, Krantikari Kisan Union president Darshan Pal accused the Centre of dividing farmer organisations.
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“The Centre should call a special session of Parliament to repeal the three farm laws... Sirf tarikh pe tarikh diye ja rahe hain (they are giving us only dates after dates), but are not listening to the farmers,” Pal said.
Pal said in the previous meeting, the government had asked them to form a panel consisting of experts to discuss the laws. “But, the farmers have rejected the proposal,” he said.
“Tens of thousands of farmers, including mothers, children and old-aged, have been sitting peacefully national highways for the past seven days, braving the winter. Three deaths have already been reported. It would be inhuman on the part of the Union government is it doesn’t solve the problem immediately,” Pal added. Farmers’ leader, Pratibha Shinde of Lok Sangharsh Morcha, said:
“The government has the last chance tomorrow to decide whether it is repealing the laws or not.Otherwise, this movement will spread across the country.’’Another leader, Gurnam Singh Chadoni, said if the Centre doesn’t withdraw the new legislations, more steps will be taken to press their demands in the coming days.
Transporters call ‘chakka jam’ on dec 8
The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC)has called for a strike from December 8 in support of the farmers. “From December 8, we will shut all our operations across north India and stop all our vehicles across north Indian states and UTs, including Delhi, Haryana, UP, Punjab, Himachal, and Jammu. We have decided that if the government still does not agree to the demands of the farmers, then we will call for a ‘chakka jam’ all across India and stop all our vehicles,” AIMTC president Kultaran Singh Atwal said. According to the road transport ministry, 60% of freight and 87% of passenger traffic is accounted for by road transport.