Rejoin talks, vandalism no answer to demands: Union minister Anurag Thakur to farmers

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday urged the protesting farmers to rejoin talks with the government on their demands and asserted that violence and vandalism were not the answer to their problems. Speaking to reporters here, Thakur said the government had accepted some demands of the farmers' organisations, who were marching towards the national capital in huge numbers. But issues such as India walking out of the World Trade Organisation and cancellation of free trade agreements would require wider consultations, he said.

"If you demand that India walk out of WTO, cancellation of FTA, rejection of smart meters and exemption of farmers from the Electricity Act, should the Centre not talk with other stakeholders and the state governments?" Thakur asked.

He said the government had proposed setting up of the committee during the talks with farmers' organisations on Monday.


"We will have to talk with others, only then will we be able to make any decisions," Thakur said.

The senior BJP leader said if the Modi government can bring Navy veterans languishing in Qatar, then even the issues of farmers can be resolved at the discussion table.

Thakur said the Modi government has always been pro-farmers and have spent more on ensuring minimum support price (MSP) for farmers than what was spent during the UPA years.

The minister slammed the Congress' announcement of granting a statutory cover for minimum support price.

"Rahul Gandhi is speaking lies once again and misleading the people. There was a Congress government for 60 years. Who had stopped them from enacting laws for all these years?" Thakur said.