Farmers said the agenda of the meeting should also include amendments to be made and notified in the Commission for the Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance, 2020 to exclude farmers from its penal provisions.
Thousands of agriculturists, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting against the laws for the last over four weeks at various border points of Delhi and demanding that the legislations be repealed.
In a letter to 40 union leaders, Union Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Vivek Aggarwal said the Centre is making all efforts with "an open heart" to find an appropriate solution to resolve all the concerns raised by farmers.
India's recently-enacted agri laws have the potential to increase farmers' income, but there is a need to provide a social safety net to the vulnerable cultivators, IMF's Chief Economist Gita Gopinath has said. Indian agriculture is in need of reforms, she said. There are multiple areas where the reforms are needed, including infrastructure, the chief economist of the Washington-based global financial institution said on Tuesday. The three agri laws, enacted in September last year, have been projected by the Indian government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.
In a show of strength, hundreds of women are expected to drive tractors at 'Kisan Gantantra Parade' on Republic Day, as a large number of farmers opposing the new agriculture laws will enter the national capital under a high security cover.
The minister noted that while there is an agitation going on one side, there are also lakhs of farmers coming in support of these laws.
'Why the restrictions for Bakri Eid?'
A large number of women from various states reached the sites of protest against the Centre's three farm laws that has been going on for over 50 days now.
Addressing his rally at Valmiki Nagar, the former Congress president said he was pained to see that Prime Minister Modi's effigy was burnt in Punjab on the occasion of Dusshera, and added that it reflected the 'anger' of youths and farmers.
The NDRF said the building was filled with hazardous carbon monoxide.
Senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that a section of farmers has fallen in the grip of a few people with "vested interests" and asserted that the government was working to address their misgivings about the reforms, which have drawn strong protests from a section of cultivators.
'How can we have lunch offered by the government when our fellow farmers are sitting on roads'
Celebs scorch the ramp at Rihanna's Savage X Fenty fashion show.
'If our demands aren't met, then, we will hold tractor march on January 6 and also on January 26'
Women and members from the queer and transgender communities took out a protest march from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar here against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on Friday. Cries of 'Halla Bol' and 'Azaadi' rent the air as they voiced their dissent against the law.
The Congress's motion of no confidence against the Bharatiya Janata Party- Jannayak Janata Party government in Haryana was defeated on Wednesday with 55 members of the assembly voting against the motion while 32 members from the opposition camp backed it.
Subhash K Jha gives us the very best of Waheeda Rehman.
With almost all opposition parties too backing the 'Bharat bandh' and many announcing parallel protests in support of the farmers, the Centre has issued an advisory directing the states and Union Territories to tighten security and ensure peace is maintained.
If Modi's political retreat -- he has tried to avoid a pre-1984 type of situation in Punjab -- helps soothe Sikh sentiments, nobody should complain Modi, asserts Sheela Bhatt.
The forecast of deficient monsoon rainfalls scared farmers.
