Haryana govt assures farmers meet with Union Minister in 10 days

The Haryana government has received demands from farmers protesting the India-US trade deal and has assured a meeting with the Union Agriculture Minister within 10 days, while also working to secure the release of arrested farmer leaders.

Haryana Govt Assures Talks with Centre

The Haryana government has received the letter of demands by the farmers' union and assured them of arranging a meeting with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan or officials in the central government within 10 days. Farmers held a "Chalo Delhi" protest against the proposed India-US trade deal, when they were stopped by the police force at the Shambhu Border. Haryana Minister Shyam Singh Rana said that he will speak to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini over BKU Charuni leader Gurnam Singh Charuni's arrest and resolve the issue by evening.

Rana said, "I have received the demands submitted by the farmers' union, and we will forward them to the appropriate authorities so that all issues can be resolved. Regarding the matter concerning Gurnam Singh Charuni, I will speak to the Chief Minister and ensure a resolution by this evening. We will arrange a discussion with Union Minister Shivraj Chouhan, or whoever the central government designates, within a week or 10 days."

Farmers Await Release of Leaders to Decide Next Steps

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that the future course of action will be decided after Gurnam Singh Charuni and BM Singh are released.

Pandher told reporters, "Haryana's Agriculture Minister accepted our memorandum of demands; when we asked him to arrange a meeting with Union Minister Shivraj Chouhan, he said he would make the necessary arrangements. He assured us that his office would send us a letter within 8 to 10 days confirming the meeting. The dialogue will move forward from there; the outcome of the meeting is a matter for later. Secondly, we demanded the release of all farmer leaders and farmers. Officials stated that after consulting the Chief Minister, they would release Gurnam Singh Chaduni and BM Singh; these two demands were accepted."

"Once they are released, we will discuss the matter and decide the future course of action for this movement whether to continue the sit-in here or proceed only after the talks," the farmer leader added.

Contentious India-US Trade Deal

The farmers protested as India agreed to "eliminate or reduce tariffs" on several US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers' grains (DDGs), red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products. However, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has assured no compromise over the dairy and agriculture sectors.

Opposition Parties Rally Behind Farmers

Meanwhile, the opposition leaders slammed the Centre over the deal and supported the farmers' protest.

Senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel said, "Rahul Gandhi had warned early on that this deal would ruin the farmers. This government is completely compromised; they simply agree with whatever US President Trump says. There must be some weakness on their part for them to be so submissive."

Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat recalled the farmers' protest over the three farm bills and termed the government "anti-farmer." Bhagat said, "In the past, farmers committed suicide and protested against the farm bills; the government eventually had to yield and accept their demands. India is an agrarian country, and the manner in which India has capitulated in the trade deal and the way tariffs have been imposed is anti-farmer. I have maintained that this government is hostile towards every section of society and is intent on clinging to power by any means necessary, constantly looking for ways to poach MLAs, MPs. The tactics they employed in places like Bengal or Maharashtra amount to an insult to the popular mandate."

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to a "one-sided deal" under pressure from the US. He said, "I consider the trade deal currently underway, whether with the UK or with the US, to be a complete surrender by the Government of India. Narendra Modi is under pressure. This deal is one-sided: Indian farmers will face taxes, while US farmers will be exempt. How can there be a level playing field? This is an anti-farmer deal. We support the farmers who have come here to peacefully voice their concerns."

AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang also echoed the sentiment, alleging that the India-US trade deal will "devastate" the agriculture sector. The AAP leader told ANI, "The US-India trade deal, which we discussed in the previous session, will definitely devastate the country's farming sector. I believe farmers have never suffered such a massive blow before. This agitation has started from Punjab, but farmers all over the nation will take to the streets to protest against the deal."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)