As the ongoing farmers’ protest continued for the 20th day on Tuesday, Union Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that the government is ready discuss the three farm laws clause by clause by if the protesting farmers respond to amendments proposed by the government.”We have said that we are ready for the talks. The government will definitely do it if their (farmer unions’) proposal comes…We want the discussions to be held clause by clause. They will give their opinion on our proposal, we will definitely hold further talks,” he said.Earlier on Monday, farmer leaders went on a daylong hunger strike and demonstrated in different parts of the country to push for a rollback of the new farm laws. From government’s side, Union minister Rajnath Singh said there is no question of the government ever taking any “retrograde step” against the agriculture sector.Meanwhile, Rapid Action Force (RAF) and additional forces have been deployed at Singhu (Delhi-Haryana) border as the protest looks set to intensify further as more farmers are expected to join the ongoing agitation at Delhi’s border points to press for their demands. Over 2,000 women from the families of those protesting at the Singhu border here are likely to join the demonstration in the coming days. Farmer leaders said they were making arrangements for the women coming from different parts of Punjab. Tents are being put up, a separate langar is being planned, and extra temporary toilets are being arranged, they added.With farmers from different states camping at Delhi’s Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur border points for over two weeks to demand a repeal of the farm laws enacted in September, several roads have been closed, and commuters advised to take alternative routes to avoid inconvenience.
