The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership on Sunday huddled together to find a solution to the escalating farmers’ agitation against the central farm legislations.
Union Home Minister and senior party leader Amit Shah once again took charge and held a brainstorming session with the Punjab BJP leaders as the farmers have taken an unwavering stand and calling for intensifying their struggle if the new agri laws were not revoked.
Available information suggests that during the meeting, also attended by the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Prakash — who have been holding talks with the farmers’ unions, Shah discussed in detail the state’s “ground situation” as far as farmers’ agitation is concerned.
Even as what actually transpired during the 40-minute meeting is not known, it has been learnt that the leaders discussed the ground situation in Punjab, besides devising the strategy to stop the farmers from further intensifying their protest and eventually concluding it.
As the talks between the Centre and farmers have come to a grinding halt with both sides sticking to their respective stands, the state BJP leaders, following the meeting, gave out a message that the Government’s doors are open for the talks.
Notably, the farmers in Punjab have been protesting since past three months, with agriculturists from several states camping at Delhi’s five border points that connect Delhi with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh from different directions since November 26 — impacting the supply chains to the national capital.
The farmers’ unions, further intensifying their agitation after the Centre taking an adamant stand against repealing the acts, have announced to hold a day-long ‘hunger strike’ at Singhu border on the Delhi-Ambala route on December 14.
Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma, after the meeting, said that the Centre is prepared to resolve all grievances of farmers to end the deadlock between them and the Central Government.
“Union Home Minister Amit Shah has given us an assurance that the Centre is ready to resolve farmers’ grievances when we met him at his residence in Delhi,” said Sharma, who was accompanied by Punjab BJP in-charge Dushyant Gautam, state organizational secretary Dinesh Kumar, and general secretary Subhash Sharma.
“The Centre is all ready to address every fear and apprehension of the farmers on these three laws and we hope that the farmers would soon withdraw their protest,” he said adding that the BJP would always stand by the farmers and protect their interests in all circumstances.
Lauding the role of Punjab farmers in the past, Sharma regretted that their plight had been deteriorating over the years. “The three laws would usher in a new era of agriculture reforms and would go a long way in improving their plight,” he added.
Union Minister Som Parkash, Lok Sabha MP from Punjab’s Hoshiarpur, also maintained that the Government had offered to amend the farm laws to resolve this issue, to which the farmers did not agree. However, “the Government’s doors are always open for the farmers for talks”,” he added.
A senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity, told The Pioneer that some of the farmers’ unions had, in one of the meetings, “agreed” to the Government’s offer of amendments but they later insisted on repealing the acts completely and nothing else.
“We were told that some farmers’ leaders were okay with the amendments during a meeting held on December 3. But later, when they came for another meeting, they insisted on repealing the acts saying that the offer for amendment was late and now they could not step back as many others have joined us and gathered on Delhi borders,” said the leader, hinting at some “harmful elements” taking over the farmers’ struggle — an allegation vehemently denied by farm unions time and again.