Round 7: Farmers harden stand ahead of talks with Centre

New Delhi, Jan 4 (SocialNews.XYZ) Ahead of the seventh round of talks with the Centre on Monday, the farmers have hardened their stand on the demand for repealing the three farm laws.

The agitating farmers have already announced to take out a tractor parade towards Delhi on January 26, which is the Republic Day, besides a series of programmes in a bid to intensify their protest.

Ahead of joining the talks, Harinder Singh Lokhowal, a prominent farmer leader from Punjab and Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) general secretary told IANS, "I will ask the government to take back the new laws and save farmers who they call 'Annadata', as over 50 farmers have lost their lives during the protest."

He said, "How many sacrifices the government wants to take?"

He also criticised the action taken by state governments of Haryana and Punjab to stop the farmers from approaching Delhi as the Haryana Police fired tear gas at them in Rewari district.

He said the farmer leaders from the Singhu border would leave for the Vigyan Bhawan by 12 p.m. as the meeting was scheduled Monday at 2 p.m.

The number of farmer leaders to join the talks is expected to remain as were present in the sixth round of talks held on December 30.

The sixth round of meeting ended after over five hours with the Centre saying that the two sides had reached a consensus on two out of four key issues.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh have been protesting at the borders of the national capital demanding the repeal of the three farm laws, among other demands.

Source: IANS