Farmers at Singhu border allege conspiracy to kill 4 leaders on Republic Day

New Delhi, Jan 23: Farmer leaders at the Singhu border protest site on Friday alleged a plot to shoot four farmer leaders and cause disruption in the agitation on January 26.

In a sensational revelation, farmer leaders at a late night press conference presented a masked man who named police officials who have a plan to shoot farmers if things go out of control on January 26.

"Arms and ammunition was also dispatched with the intention to kill the farmers' leaders," they alleged.

The masked man claimed that during the tractor rally, his team members were allegedly asked to pose as policemen and baton-charge on the crowd.

The government''s negotiations with representatives of thousands of protesting farmers hit a roadblock on Friday as the unions squarely rejected the Centre''s proposal to put three contentious laws on hold, while the Agriculture Minister blamed external "forces" for their rigid stand and said no resolution is possible when the sanctity of agitation is lost.

Unlike the last 10 rounds of talks, the 11th round saw both the sides hardening their positions and could not even reach a decision on the next date for the meeting. The government asked unions to revert by Saturday in case they agree to the suspension proposal and the talks can continue only thereafter.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi for over a month now against the three laws.

Farmer groups have alleged these laws will end the mandi and MSP procurement systems and leave the farmers at the mercy of big corporates, even as the government has rejected these apprehensions as misplaced.