NEW DELHI: Farmer leaders on Thursday refused the lunch offered by the government during their meeting with three Union ministers here and preferred to eat the food ferried in a van from the Singhu border, where thousands of their colleagues are sitting in protest against the new agri laws.
The fourth-round of talks began around noon amid ongoing protests by farmers seeking repeal of the laws.
During the lunch break, a small van carrying food for around 40 people was seen outside the Vigyan Bhawan, where the meeting is underway.
“Our farmers’ representatives did not accept the lunch offered by the government and we arranged it from the Singhu border,” Lok Sangarsh Morcha president Pratibha Shinde told PTI.
Farmers’ leaders told the government to focus on resolving the issues instead of trying to be a good host by offering lunch, she said.
“How can we have lunch offered by the government when our fellow farmers are sitting on roads,” said Shinde, whose organisation is among the 40 farmers’ groups engaged in the talks.
—Agencies

KR Desk