Govt ready to talk to protesting farmers: I&B Minister

Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has said the Modi government is ready to talk to the protesting farmers. Taking a dig at the Congress party, Thakur also pointed out that for a section of people, farm protest has become a tool to serve their political interests. 

Thakur said the Modi government has remained committed to the farm issues from the very beginning. "In the last 10 years, farmer-friendly policies have been introduced benefitting crores of farmers on the ground," Thakur said. 

"Government is always ready to talk. Whenever the demand arises, the government itself takes the initiative. This time, too, our ministers went to Chandigarh for talks and held deliberations running late into the night. Two rounds of discussions happened. The government favours deliberations and has never gone back from it. Farm organisations left the deliberations mid-way. We are still ready to talk to the farmers," Thakur said. 

Thakur said farmers must understand that suddenly bringing new issues to the protests, won't help immediate resolution. "Issues like WTO, ending FTAs, and farm pollution can’t be resolved in a matter of days. It required detailed discussion with other stakeholders. Government has offered to form a committee to look into these issues," Thakur said.