Farmers' leaders object to Haryana raids, arrests

NEW DELHI: In the ninth meeting between the government and the protesting farmers’ leaders on Friday, which ended with agreement on holding another meeting on January 19, the leaders raised strong objections to the recent raids and arrests made by the Haryana government. Later, the protesting farmers’ unions decided to hold a meeting on January 17 to decide on their future course of action.

“We raised the issue of transporters from Punjab who are supplying goods to the protest sites being troubled by the Union government,” Rajinder Singh, vice president of Kirti Kisan Union, told the ET. “We also raised the issue of the FIR registered in Haryana under Section 307 against the agitating farmers and protesters. We demanded that the government stop this immediately.”

“Apart from discussion on the farm laws, the important takeaway of the meeting was that everyone from farmer leaders to the representatives from the government felt that a solution would come out from meetings between the farmers and the government only, and hence another day has been fixed for the meeting,” farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal told media persons after the meeting.


Farmer leaders said that with both the government and the farmers agreeing to talk on the laws, the Supreme Court intervention had little to do in this case. The SC decision to clamp a stay on the contentious laws and set up a four-member committee to discuss the matter with the protesting farmers was not discussed at all during the meeting, said people aware of the matter. Some of the farmers’ leaders said the next time the government should call for a meeting only when it is willing to resolve the issue.