Farmers observe daylong hunger strike; Tomar repeats, govt ready for talks

New Delhi, Dec 14: In a standoff with the government over three contentious farm laws, leaders of around 32 farmer unions observed a day-long hunger strike at Delhi's Singhu border earlier on the day.

Since November 26 hundreds of farmers are protesting on the outskirts of Delhi, demanding repeal of the laws which they claim will reduce their earnings and give an upper hand to the corporations.

The unions claimed that demonstrations were also held at various district headquarters across the country. The unions have claimed that more people are expected to join the ongoing agitation.

Hundreds of farmers have been camping at the Haryana-Rajasthan border as they were stopped from moving towards the national capital. Several borders of the national capital remained closed on Monday due to the ongoing protest by farmers.

Protesting farmers at Delhi border points have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations.

The government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, meanwhile, said that the government is engaging with farmer leaders to decide on the next date of talks. "The meeting will definitely happen. We are engaging with farmers," Tomar was quoted as saying by PTI.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Amarinder Singh engaged in a Twitter spat on Monday over the ongoing farmers' protest.

The war of words between the two leaders began after Singh, addressing a press conference at Chandigarh on Sunday, described as "theatrics" Kejriwal's announcement earlier during that day that he will observe a one-day fast on Monday in support of the protesting farmers.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the government is willing to hold dialogue with farmers but asserted that the recent reforms have been undertaken with the best interests of farmers.

The three farm laws that were enacted in September have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.

However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of minimum support price (MSP) and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.