Progressive Haryana farmers back new Farm Laws; submit memorandum, says Agri minister

As the entire nation and the world by extension is baffled by the intensity of the ongoing farmers' protest in India, Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said "progressive farmers" from Haryana submitted memorandum backing new controversial Farm Laws. Farmers from Punjab and Haryana have led the agitation for the last month and have been engaged in fierce protests in Delhi as well as other states.

The agriculture minister's comments came after his meeting with the farmers' leaders from Haryana at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi.

"Progressive farmer leaders from Haryana met me and submitted a memorandum with their signatures supporting farm laws. They also shared their experiences on how these laws are benefitting them," Tomar was quoted as saying by ANI.

A delegation of 29 farmers, led by Bhartiya Kisan Union's Haryana state leader Guni Prakash, met the agriculture minister in a bid to extend their support to the new Farm Laws, PTI reported. Union leader Prakash said it submitted a "letter of support" to Tomar on the new Farm Laws.

"We will also protest if the government repeals the laws. We have given a memorandum to all districts. Everyone has a right to protest. They have, so do we. We are in support of the three laws, but this protest is being led by Leftists and those who are violent," Prakash told reporters after the meeting.

Farmers' protest in India

Lakhs of farmers are protesting in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh among other states against the three farm laws passed by the Parliament in September this year.

Thousands of them are camping at different borders of Delhi and have blocked several entry points into the national capital, in a bid to force the Central government to bow to their demands -- repeal of all of the three laws.

The farmer unions on Wednesday received a draft proposal from the government addressing some key concerns raised by protestors in regards to the new agricultural reforms. In the written assurance, the Centre promised minimum support prices (MSP), will allow farmers to go to court to resolve disputes instead of sub-divisional level magistrate and scrap the Electricity Amendment Bill. But the unions flatly disagreed, saying they would settle for nothing short of scrapping of the legislations.

The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) also opposed the government's proposal, saying the terms are just dressed up as new.

"Modi govt insincere & arrogant about resolving farmers demands; all farmers bodies rightly reject old proposals dressed up as new. AIKSCC and all farmer organisations reiterate their demand to repeal 3 farm acts and EB 2020. Protest to continue, more farmers to join in, in Delhi. District level dharnas to start in all states [sic], " the release said.

Furthermore, Samyukt Kisan Morcha maintained a strong stance on repealing the three farm laws and bring MSP Guarantee Act. In a release, the farmer union said all the farmers in the country will boycott Reliance Jio's connections.

The release further stated that farmers in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand will hold a 1-day strike at district headquarters and in other states, there would be an indefinite strike from December 14.