Leaders of the protesting farmers will hold the eighth round of talks with the government in New Delhi on Friday over the three farm laws that have have sparked protest across the country.

The protesting farmers have said that they will hold a tractor rally in the national capital if their demands of repealing the three farm laws are not met by the government. The last round of talks held on January 4, had failed to end the deadlock between the farmers and the centre.

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Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar ahead of the talks at Vigyan Bhavan with the farmer union leaders said that he was ‘hopeful that talks will be held in a positive atmosphere.’ He said, “I am hopeful that talks will be held in a positive atmosphere and a solution will be found. During discussions, each side has to take steps to reach a solution.” Tomar had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday ahead of the talks

The Friday’s meeting is scheduled at  2 pm at Vigyan Bhavan. The farmers on Thursday took out a tractor rally along the Delhi borders to protest against the three farm laws, which was rehearsal for the main one planned for January 26 if the talks fail.

Union Minister Narendra Tomar has also met a Sikh priest from Ludhiana’s Nanaksar Gurudwara, Baba Lakha Singh, to mediate between the farmers and the government. The priest is said to be associated with Sant Samaj which has influence over Akali Dal.

After the last meeting on January 4, farmer leader had asked the protesters to prepare for the long haul as both sides toughened their stands. The border crossing points to the national capital from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh remain closed for traffic as the framers protests that has entered day 44 are blocked.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Prasesh and other states are protesting against the three farm laws as they view that these news laws leave them vulnerable to the big corporations and threaten their financial position and bargaining power.

Over 60 farmers protesting the laws have died, as many could not survive the extreme weather conditions. 

The Supreme Court in December had ordered that a special committee be formed. The bench led by CJI Sharad Arvind Bobde said, “Your negotiation will again fail as they won’t agree.”