Dharmendra asks govt to resolve farmers' issues

Mumbai: Veteran actor Dharmendra on Friday said he was pained to see farmers suffering and urged the central government to find a solution to their protests over the farm laws. The tweet comes a week after the 84-year-old actor put out a similar post on Twitter. "I am extremely in pain to see the suffering of my farmer brothers. Government should do something fast," Dharmendra wrote.

Last week, the actor had urged the government to resolve the protests soon, citing the growing number of coronavirus cases in Delhi. "I request the government... please quickly find a solution the farmers' problems... the number of corona cases are on a rise in Delhi... it is painful," Dharmendra had written in a post. The veteran actor, however, soon deleted the post, without any explanation. When a user posted the screenshot of the tweet, wondering what prompted the actor to delete the tweet, Dharmendra said, "I deleted the tweet because I felt saddened by comments like these. You can abuse me to your heart's content, I am happy that you are happy. "Yes, I am sad for my farmer brothers... The government should find a solution fast, nobody is listening to us," he wrote.

Farmers from different states have been camping at Delhi's Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur and Chilla (Delhi-Noida) border points for nearly two weeks now to demand a repeal of the farm laws enacted in September. On Thursday, farmer unions threatened to block railway tracks across the country and all highways leading to Delhi if their demands are not met. The announcement came a day after farmers' leaders rejected the government's offer to amend the new agri laws and give a "written assurance" on continuing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system. Farmers worry these laws will eliminate the safety net of MSP and do away with mandis that ensure earning. But the government says the MSP system will continue and the new laws will give farmers more options to sell their crop.