All committee members pro-govt, pro-farm laws, won't engage: Farmers

New Delhi: If the farmer leaders' message was not clear enough on Monday about not wanting to participate in the Supreme Court-appointed Committee hearings over the three Central farm laws, the absence of senior advocates Dushyant Dave, HS Phoolka and Colin Gonsalves — representing the farmer unions in Tuesday's hearing was clear enough.

After the top court stayed the implementation of the three laws — without commenting on why — in what is most likely a first, the farmer leaders held a press conference at the Singhu border, announcing that their protests would continue and reiterated that they would not appear before the committee as set up by the Supreme Court.

And after it was revealed that all the four members appointed by the Chief Justice-led bench to the proposed Committee had publicly written in support of the farm laws, the farmers alleged that the committee was being formed to divert public attention from the protests and the core demand of having the laws repealed.

Farmer leaders at the presser said: "All members of the committee are pro-government and pro-farm laws. They wrote articles in newspapers like Indian Express.

The formation of the committee is to divert attention from the issue."

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said a decision on the further course of action will be taken in the meeting of the core committee of protesting farmer unions on Wednesday.

"We welcome the court's order to stay the implementation of the farm laws, but we want a complete repeal of these laws, which is our main demand," Abhimanyu Kohar, a senior leader of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, said.

At the presser, the farmers maintained that they were never the ones to approach the SC and that they have always maintained their grouse is with the Centre. Farmer leaders said that they will go on to meet the government on January 15 as scheduled and that the protests would go on even after January 26, if the laws are not repealed.

Responding to the top court's remarks on the presence of women and senior citizens at the protest site, Union leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said: "Seniors do not want to leave the protest site. No one will leave this place."

The farmer leaders added that the tractor march planned for Republic Day in Delhi will go ahead as planned.