New Delhi, December 7: Farmer leaders on Monday said that emergency services will be allowed during 'Bharat Bandh' on December 8, and appealed to their affiliates to not force anyone to observe the shut down against the three recently enacted agriculture-related laws.

Addressing a press conference here, farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said that the Central government will have to accept the demands of farmers to scrap the new laws whose passage has sparked protests. Also Read | Bharat Bandh Tomorrow: Odisha Civil Services 2019 Main Exam For General Studies Paper I & II Postponed, Check New Date For Examination Here.

The agitating farmers have already announced that they would occupy toll plazas between 11 am to 3 pm during the 'Bharat Bandh'. Bhartiya Kisan Ekta Sangathan president Jagjit singh Dallewala appealed to farmers to maintain peace and not to enter into any scuffle to enforce the bandh. He said the 'bandh' will be effective across the country.

"The Modi government will have to accept our demands. We want nothing less than withdrawal of the new farm laws," Rajewal said. Referring to the Centre's offer to amend the contentious laws, another farmer leader, Darshan Pal, asked as to why the government was agreeing to make changes in the legislations now after initially claiming they will benefit the peasantry. Bharat Bandh Tomorrow: BEST Buses, Taxis, Ola and Uber Cabs to Remain Operational in Mumbai on December 8.

"We want the government to reinstate the old farm laws even if the government thinks it is not good for farmers," Pal also said. Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi against the new farm laws. Several rounds of talks between the Centre and farmers have failed to break the deadlock.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)