Farmers' agitation: Rajnath Singh defend laws, but says ready for talks

Farmers' agitation: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday defended the Centre's three contentious farm laws, but said his government was ready to talk to farmers if they felt there was any clause in the legislations against their interests. Rajnath Singh said there was a need to fully understand the laws. "An atmosphere of opposition is being created and farmers should understand this," the Defence Minister added. Also read | Amid Afghanistan-Taliban conflict, Punjabis worried over safety of gurdwaras Farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the Delhi borders since late November in protest against the laws, demanding their withdrawal. Farmer groups have alleged that the laws will end the mandi and MSP procurement systems, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. Addressing the gathering for a state-level Annapurna programme under the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana through online mode on Thursday, Rajnath Singh lauded the Central Government for taking steps for the welfare of farmers. "Our government brought three farm laws. But I think there is a need to fully understand these laws," he added.  Add more | Union Cabinet okays national mission to set up domestic production of edible oil Pointing to the benefits of the laws, he claimed that farmers had started learning the truth and they had started doing calculations of their profit and loss. "I have studied the farm legislations fully and I can say with confidence that there is no clause as per my information which is against the interest of our farmer brothers," he said. -PTC News with inputs from agencies