Farmers demand special session of Parliament to abolish farm laws

Hundreds of farmers are staying put at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over various demands, including the repeal of the three new laws.

They have expressed apprehension that the laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the 'mercy' of big corporates.

Even as the talks between the government and the agitated farmers are underway, crowd swelled at the border connecting Delhi to Uttar Pradesh in Ghazipur after hundreds of tractors entered the area to put pressure on the government to repeal the three contentious farm laws.

The farmer leaders suggested the government that a special session of the Parliament be called and the new farm laws be abolished.

“The Centre should call a special session of Parliament to repeal the three farm laws,” Krantikari Kisan Union President Darshan Pal said. He also called for burning of effigies throughout the country to protest against the Modi government and corporate houses on December 5.

Pal accused the Centre of trying to to sow discord among various farmer unions. “The government tried to show this is only the movement of farmers in Punjab,” he told reporters at Singhu on the Delhi-Haryana border, according to NDTV. “We have also decided farmer leaders from all over the country, not just Punjab, should be called for talks.”

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, are holding talks with the representatives of the farmer groups at the Vigyan Bhawan.