New Delhi: Protesting farmers unanimously rejected the centre’s written offers amendments in farm laws on Wednesday. The farmers announced a series of plans to escalate their protest against the new farm laws after a meeting this evening. Farmer leader Dr Darshanpal said, “We will block the Delhi-Jaipur highway by December 12. We will sit on dharna at all the toll plazas of country on December 12. We have called for a nationwide protest on 14th. We have asked the people to protest against every MP and MLA of the BJP”.

In the proposal sent earlier to 13 agitating farmer unions, the Centre promised a written assurance for minimum support prices, allowing farmers to go to court to resolve disputes instead of a sub-divisional magistrate and scrapping of the Electricity Amendment bill, which they opposed. The plans involve closure of the Delhi-Jaipur Highway, boycott of Reliance malls and capture of toll plazas. By December 14, there will be a full-scale protest across the country, they said.

The government also offered to make amendments in the laws to address the concerns of farmers in various areas. To allay fears that big corporates will take over farmlands, the government said it can be clarified that no buyer can take loans against farmland nor any such condition will be made to farmers. Amendments can also be made so that state governments can register the traders operating outside mandis. States can also impose tax and cess as they used in the Agricultural Produce Market Committee mandis on them.

Speaking to the media, the farmer leaders said that the government proposal after Amit Shah’s meeting was put in front of all farm leaders. And we all decided that the proposal is an insult to farmers. The proposal is also an insult to the Indian citizens”.  The farm leaders insisted that they will not accept anything less than the total scrapping of the laws.