Thousands of farmers protesting against the Centre's new farm laws stayed put on the borders of Delhi with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, as their fifth round of talks with the government ended in a deadlock. Meanwhile, MoS Agriculture on Sunday said, "the government has said that MSP will continue, can give it in writing too."
"I think Congress government (in states) and Opposition are trying to instigate farmers. Nation's farmers are in favour of these laws but some political people are trying to add fuel to the fire," he added.
The protests led to the blockade of key routes leading to Delhi, which resulted in long traffic jams.The government has proposed another meeting on December 9 with the representatives of protesting farmers and requested them to send back the elderly, women and children to their homes from the protest sites.
The agitating farmers had on Friday announced a 'Bharat bandh' on December 8 and threatened to intensify their agitation and block more roads leading to the national capital if the government did not accept their demands.
As farmers remained unyielding on their demand for scrapping the new farm laws, the police kept the Delhi-Haryana border at Singhu, Tikri, Jharoda Lampur, Auchandi, Safiabad, Piao Maniyari, and Saboli closed for traffic movement. With no breakthrough in sight after several rounds of negotiations and farmers refusing to budge, the protest sites are now resembling a 'pind' (village in Punjabi).
Meanwhile, several opposition parties on Saturday announced support to the ‘Bharat Bandh’ called on December 8 by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and held protests in various parts of the country to express solidarity with the agitators who have stayed put on Delhi borders for 10 days. “It will be an emphatic Bharat Bandh on December 8,” All India Kisan Federation president Prem Singh Bhangu said on Saturday evening after the fifth round of talks between the farmers and the central government failed to break the logjam.
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