Farmers protest live updates: Congress meet over farmers issues under away

The Union government on Friday will hold the eighth round of talks with the representatives of farmer unions protesting at the borders of Delhi against the three agricultural laws passed during the last monsoon session of Parliament. The meeting is scheduled to start at 2 pm in Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Surjit Kumar Jyani on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah after which he said that government is ready to listen but farmers are being stubborn."Government is ready to listen but farmers are being stubborn. Law and order in Punjab is ruined," Jyani said.

"The government of India is committed to the welfare of farmers. We meet those who are supporting the laws and those opposing it. I am sure that farmer unions who are agitating will understand the idea behind agriculture laws and they will think about the welfare of farmers and actively arrive at a solution by a positive discussion," Tomar told reporters.

The Supreme Court Wednesday said it would hear on January 11 a batch of pleas challenging the new farm laws as also the ones raising issues related to the ongoing farmers' protest at Delhi borders. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, which observed that there is no improvement on the ground regarding farmers' protests, was told by the Centre that “healthy discussions” are going on between the government and farmers over these issues. Attorney General K K Venugopal said there is good chance that parties may come to a conclusion in the near future and filing of response by the Centre on the pleas challenging the new farm laws might foreclose the negotiations between the farmers and government.