Dilli Chalo protest: 'If Indian Navy vets can be saved...', says Union Minister Anurag Thakur

Farmers protest latest: Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday urged protesting farmers to hold talks with the government, citing how the government brought back Indian Navy veterans from Qatar through dialogue. He also said talks are taking time since the farmers are coming up with new demands.

The Indian government on Monday brought back seven of the eight Indian Navy veterans detained on 'espionage' charges. Upon reaching India, the Navy veterans thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said they wouldn't have been freed without the PM's intervention at the highest levels.

"When Indian Navy veterans can be saved from the death penalty and brought back safely from Qatar, if 27,000 Indians can be rescued during the Ukraine war under Operation Ganga, if crores of Indians can be brought back during Covid... all of this has been achieved through dialogue. My request to our farmer brothers is to come and continue our dialogue," Thakur told NDTV. 

He further said that the farmers have demanded that India should not be a part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and that the country should scrap free trade agreements. He added that farmers also demanded that stubble burning should not be seen as a contributing factor to pollution. 

"We told them we will form a committee or we can also discuss with the agriculture minister. We will also have to hold discussions with states and other stakeholders. This is why I am telling them to continue the dialogue. When we have met most of your (farmers') demands, a solution can be found on the rest through discussions," he further said. 

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The farmers, according to Thakur, further demanded that they be kept out of the purview of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill. Besides this, Thakur also urged them to not indulge in violence as it causes a "loss to the nation", while adding thousands of common people are having to endure long traffic jams. 

Thousands of protesting farmers, mostly from Punjab, will today resume their march to Delhi after a chaotic confrontation with the police at the Punjab-Haryana border. To prevent their entry into the national capital, the Haryana Police had various measures in place, including drones with tear gas cannisters, water cannons, concrete barriers, cement barriers, sandbags and tyre deflators. 

Even after repeated appeals by the cops, the protestors started pelting stones, which led to injuries on both sides. Around 24 police personnel were injured due to the clashes, according to officials. Farmer leaders, on the other hand, claimed that around 60 protestors were injured. 

Also Read: 'Dilli Chalo' protest: Farmers to continue march to national capital after confrontation at Punjab-Haryana border