DNA Special: Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar thanks farmers for keeping protests peaceful

Amidst farmers' agitation entering the 16th day, special guest tonight on the shown DNA, Honourable Union Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in conversation with Zee News Editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary spoke on the farm laws, ongoing protests and many other things.

In his special interview with Zee News, Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar put forward his final offer for the agitating farmers. Tomar very clearly stated that the farm laws would not be withdrawn because the government with open mind is ready to make amendments in them and is already in talks with the farmer leaders.

Tomar said that a draft with changes in the present farm laws has been sent to the farmer representatives. However they have not yet reverted back on them.

Zee News gave a platform to the Agriculture Minister to directly share his thoughts and plans with the citizens of the country, and specially to connect with the farmers who are agitating against the governments' farm laws.

Narendra Singh Tomar requested the agitating farmers to first read the provisions of the farm laws and have an open minded discussion with him on the provisions of the laws.

Through Zee News, Narendra Singh Tomar thanked the farmers for keeping their protests largely peaceful. However he has requested the farmer representatives to keep an eye on the anti-social elements who may enter their protests and cause anarchy.

Tomar said that the Farmer leaders have assured him that they would not allow any such thing to happen.

Narendra Singh Tomar said that he too belongs from a farming background and has been a farmer. However due to his present job profile he now does not get sufficient time to do farming.

Tomar in his interview with Sudhir Chaudhary said that he was worried about the fact that during the farmer protests there were slogans raised to release activists arrested during the Delhi riots and Bhima Koregaon agitation.

Earlier in the day Tomar had said, "Anti-social elements are conspiring to spoil the atmosphere of the peasant movement under the guise of farmers." 

Narendra Singh Tomar reiterated that while protesting is a constitutional right, it should create problems for other citizens of the country. He urged the farmers to leave the path of agitation and come for talks with the government.

Speaking on Bharat bandh Tomar said, the effect of the bandh could not been seen anywhere in the country, not even in states like Punjab and Haryana. 

Through Zee News Tomar assured farmers that there was no danger to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) and Minimum Support Price (MSP)  would remain untouched. He further reiterated the fact that with the new laws in place farmers would have the freedom to sell their produce to whom so ever they wanted to and at the price they choose to sell their produce.

He said that if farmers need not require to pay taxes in the APMCs then it would be the farmers who would be benefited. 

On the provision in the farm bill, that in case of any controversy the farmers could go to the SDM to resolve disputes, he said that it was primarily thought that since courts were already over-burdened and it would take time for the farmers to get their disputes heard, SDMs were given the right to listen to such pleas.

However now that farmers want the courts to hear such pleas, the government was ready to make the necessary amendments in the farm laws. 

On contact farming Tomar said that it would benefit the farmers in the long run. Tomar said that he has been in discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the developments, and it was with his due guidance that he has been in talks with the agitating farmers.

Tomar said that Prime Minister Modi is with the farmers and he has been reiterating the fact that farmers should know about the farm laws and these provisions of the farm laws need to be discussed with them.

Tomar said that some people have vested interests so they don't want a solution to the problem. He said that during the six years of Modi government, lots of work have been done for the betterment of the farmers.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM-KISAN) scheme, launched on 1st December 2018, has already provided a direct cash benefit of over Rs 75,000 crore to more than 9.9 crore farmers.

Under the farmer pension scheme, which was announced in the budget for 2019-20, a monthly pension of Rs 3,000 will be provided to small and marginal farmers in the age group of 18-40 years on attaining the age of 60.

On a lighter note, when Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary told Tomar to go directly and speak to the agitating farmers at the Singhu border, have langar and jalebis with them, instead of conducting the talks in Vigyan Bhawan, he said he would love to do so if called by them for talks. He would go there with an open heart.

Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said the government is sensitive towards farmers and is in discussion with them and their representatives to resolve their concerns. 

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, reiterated that the government is ready to talk with the farmers and urged them to stop the agitation in the "interest of the common people". He further said the government is willing to make reforms in the laws after talks.

"I think we will find a solution. I am hopeful. I would like to urge the Farmer Unions that they should break the deadlock. The government has sent them a proposal. If there is an objection over the provisions of an Act, the discussion will be held over it," Union Minister Tomar said.

With some farmer unions intensifying their protest against the central government over the recent agri reforms, the BJP has decided to hold nationwide programmes, including 'chaupal' in rural areas, to highlight the benefits of three farm laws. 

Party sources said events, including press conferences and public programmes, will be held in over 700 districts of the country.

The Bhartiya Kisan Union on Friday filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking it to quash three agricultural laws passed by Parliament in September as they were "illegal, arbitrary, approved in haste and will expose the farmers to corporate greed".

Two IPS officers who were leading the police force at Singhu border where hundreds of farmers have been on protest have tested positive for Covid-19, the Delhi Police said, leading to fears of the disease’s spread in the crowd.

Farmers agitating for the past two weeks against the new agri-marketing laws have, meanwhile, announced that they will block railway tracks if their demands are not met by the government. Hundreds of more farmers have left Armitsar for Delhi’s Kundli border on board 700 tractor trolleys.