Farmers' protest: Congress, SAD ask farmers to hold direct talks with PM Modi

The Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal have appealed to the farmers to hold direct talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They said that the talks would not yield any results otherwise. Former Union minister and Akali Dal's Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that farmers shouldn't fall into the trap of extended meetings, which yield nothing. "Our farmers are on the cusp of victory. I appeal to them to hold direct talks with the PM to get these agri laws repealed," Badal said in a tweet.

Punjab Congress President Sunil Jakhar said that involvement of the Prime Minister or Union Home Minister is a must for successful dialogue. Jakhar said that after Amit Shah's intervention failed to resolve the issue, the next level of talks should have been with the PM.

Badal said that if the Centre had listened to her warnings about the repercussions of the new farm laws then things would not have come to such an impasse. "People's will is supreme in a democracy," said Badal in a tweet. She urged the PM not to prolong the suffering of thousands of farmers protesting at Delhi borders.

The farm laws have been projected as major reforms in the agriculture sector that would help in removing the middleman and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country. However, farmers believe that the new laws would eliminate the safety cushion of minimum support price (MSP) and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. Meanwhile, the government has asserted that the MSP and mandi system will stay.

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