CHANDIGARH: Miffed over no minister being present for talks, farmer representatives from Punjab walked out of a meeting with the Union government on Wednesday alleging that it was not serious and was trying to foil their agitation.
That meant the protests and ‘rail roko’ will continue in the state even as the farmer organisations decided to meet again on Thursday. The farmer leaders stormed out of the meeting with agriculture secretary Sanjay Agarwal convened at Krishi Bhawan in Delhi. They were seen tearing copies of the new farm laws and shouting slogans.
When Agarwal tried to pacify the farmer representatives, urging them to stay, they handed him a memorandum of demands and walked out. Speaking to this newspaper, Balbir Singh Rajewal, president of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Rajewal), said the meeting meant little as Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar was absent.
“The proposed meeting also came at a time when as many as eight Union ministers are out in Punjab villages with their propaganda. We are disappointed with the Centre’s approach,” Rajewal said. Darshan Pal, member of the coordination committee of 29 farmers’ bodies, said after the meeting, “No proper discussion took place.
Neither agriculture minister nor junior ministers were present to hear our concerns. We asked why the minister is not meeting us; why the government is playing double game by calling us here and ministers holding virtual meetings in Punjab, there was no proper response.” Echoing him, Rajewal said, “We told him this is not an agitation of Punjab alone. He was not ready to listen to us. Bureaucrats can’t take policy decisions. Our agitation will continue.”