Farmers protest continues; Govt says discussion is the only solution

Amid no sign of abatement of the farmers' protest after more than two months, the Government reached out to farmers yet again after the presentation of the Union Budget, which Prime Minister Narendra said, has "farmers at its heart".

"Discussion is the only solution. The government is open to discussions. Before the commencement of the Parliament session the Prime Minister said that the offer is still on the table. If any farmer has any question, the Agriculture Minister has never denied opportunities for talks," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her post-budget briefing on Monday.

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She also emphasised how Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has had several rounds of discussions with farmers.

Meanwhile, even as farmer protests at Delhi borders continued, the fourth farmer Mahapanchyat was held in western Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district extending support to the demand to repeal Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 passed by the government last year.

Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary said that some people were adding fuel to the fire for their narrow political gains and hoped farmers unions will understand this.

Read | Farm Laws: Centre open for discussions, says FM Sitharaman on farmer agitation

Highlighting that the government has kept the doors open, Choudhary expressed confidence that the solution will emerge "if we sit and talk."

"I have full faith," Choudhary added.

Both ministers highlighted the pro-farmer approach of the government and the Budget's commitment to farmers' welfare.

Farmer organisations Jai Kisan Andolan, Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) and Rythu Swarajya Vedika in a joint statement, however, alleged it was "Zero Budget' for farmers and proves their apprehensions.

Read | Only concerned about having farm laws repealed, budget does not matter: Farmers

"This government is on a path of withdrawing support to agriculture, not strengthening it. Despite the huge farmers’ protests and deep discontent at their economic plight, the government of India gave the lowest priority to Agriculture in this Budget," they alleged.

Yogendra Yadav, President Swaraj India said, “What is missing in the Budget speech on agriculture is more important than what was said. Five years after announcing the target of doubling Farmers’ Income by 2022, we are entering the final year for meeting the target, but there is no announcement about how much the incomes have been enhanced until now, and how far we have to go."

Meanwhile, a number of roads leading to Delhi from UP were barricaded on the Budget day. On the railway side while Punjab Mail was diverted, another train was short-terminated Monday. This kicked in allegations that this was done to prevent farmers from reaching Delhi to join the ongoing protests.