Farmers said Centre should come forward with an “open heart” and not on a “condition”.
New Delhi:
Hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah appealed to the farmers’ union to gather on Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari on the outskirts of Delhi, saying the Centre was ready to hold talks even before the scheduled day of December 3, the farmers said the government should come forward with an “open heart” and not on a “condition”.
“Amit Shah ji has called for an early meeting on a condition; it’s not good. He should have offered talks with an open heart without any condition. We’ll hold a meeting tomorrow (Sunday) morning to decide on our response,” said Jagjit Singh, Bharatiya Kisan Union’s Punjab President, squatting at Singhu border (Delhi-Haryana).
The Delhi administration has allotted the Burari ground to the farmers for protesting. While some hundred shifted there on Saturday morning after they were allowed to enter Delhi through Tikri border with Haryana, thousand others are demanding that they be allowed to enter the heart of the city.
The Home Minister said that the Centre was ready to deliberate on every problem and demand of the farmers as soon as they move to the ground allocated by the Delhi Police.
“I want to assure you all that as soon as you shift your protest to the designated place, our government will hold talks to address your concerns the very next day, even before December 3,” Shah said.
The farmers of Kisan Union Amristar said that if the government really wished to hear their problems, they can visit the farmers at the Singhu border.
“If the government really wants to hold talks, they should come to the Singhu border. This government does not want to talk to the farmers at all; they just want to show off in front of the country and show everyone that the farmers don’t want a dialogue. We want the farm laws to be scrapped, that is all,” Jaskaran Singh of Kisan Union Amristar said.
The farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, embarked on Dilli Chalo march on November to protest against the three new farm laws.
The Tikri border with Haryana has been opened to enable the farmers to proceed to Nirankari Samagam Ground, marked for their protest by Delhi Police.