Key points:
- Against three farm laws enacted in Parliament, the farmers are up in arms. Such laws are, they argue, a deterrent to their interests.
- We intend to settle the standoff. I am sure that by resolving the issue, they (farm unions) will show respect for the CM’s initiative.
- The Chief Minister was keen on resolving the standoff, people aware of the matter said.
- The second such initiative taken by the CM would be the Saturday meeting with the farm unions.
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh invited farm union leaders to a meeting on Saturday to address the current standoff over the state unions’ stopping of passenger trains.
Against three farm laws enacted in Parliament, the farmers are up in arms. Such laws are, they argue, a deterrent to their interests.
Restrictions on the movement of freight trains:
The Centre has placed restrictions on the movement of freight trains since October 7, asking the trade unions to allow the movement of passenger trains if they want the goods trains to operate in the state.
Rajinder Singh Bajwa stated:
“We intend to settle the standoff. I am sure that by resolving the issue, they (farm unions) will show respect for the CM’s initiative,’ said Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, who is a member of the three committees of ministers to speak to the protesting farm unions.
The invitation was sent to the representatives of all the state’s 31 farm agencies.
State authorities expecting the Centre to get confirmation:
The Chief Minister was keen on resolving the standoff, people aware of the matter said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as Union Home Secretary Amit Shah, has also requested an appointment. State authorities were expecting the Centre to obtain confirmation by Saturday.
Urea stocks for wheat crops have not arrived due to the restrictions on freight trains, coal supplies have dried up, leading to the shutdown of two thermal plants, as well as food grain stocks also were piling up in the state.
The second initiative was taken by the CM:
The second such initiative taken by the CM would be the Saturday meeting with the farm unions. On September 29, the last meeting was held in which the CM promised farmers that they would enact laws to fight the three central laws. However, the state committee of ministers has met a number of times with the farm unions.”
Secretary-General of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Jagmohan Singh stated:
Jagmohan Singh, Secretary-General of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakounda), said We had had meetings with our union’s office bearers, and a close agreement has been reached to allow freight trains to benefit Punjab.”
We are also in contact with other farm organizations who are thinking on similar lines. Farm unions expect Amarinder Singh to push for the opening of toll plazas as a majority of them are on state highways, and severe losses are incurred by the state government.
Jagmohan Singh said that before meeting the CM, all 30 farming bodies would hold a meeting.
A meeting with Unions:
At a meeting with the Unions on November 13, Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Piyush Goyal requested that they vacate the railway property and permit the movement of passenger trains only after allowing freight to enter Punjab.
In their November 18 meeting, the farming bodies requested the Centre to send freight trains for the first time, after which they would let passenger trains operate.
