'Why Centre talking to farmers if they have Maoist, Khalistan links'

P Chidambaram. File Ppic

Former Union Home Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has slammed the Centre on the linking of farmers' protest with Khalistan and Maoist elements and questioned that if it were so why was the government holding talks with protesters.

"Ministers have described the protesters against the farm laws as Khalistanis, agents of Pakistan and China, Maoists, and 'tukde-tukde' gang. If you exhaust all these categories, it means there are no farmers among the thousands of protesters. If there are no farmers, why is the government talking to them?" he tweeted.

Meanwhile, as the Centre's talks with protesting farmers continued to be stalled, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held discussions on the farmers' issues with Punjab BJP leaders on Sunday in the presence of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

At the nearly 40-minute meeting at Shah's residence here, the situation in Punjab and steps to tackle the protest that farmers plan to intensify in the coming days were also discussed. Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Som Parkash was also present.

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