Holding no informal talks with farmers, barricading is local admin issue: Agriculture Minister Tomar
New Delhi: Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar Wednesday said the Centre is not holding any informal talk with protesting farmers and described putting up of more barricades and suspending internet in and around agitation sites as law and order issues related to local administrations.
The last and 11th round of meeting between the government and 41 protesting unions, held on January 22, was inconclusive. The Centre had asked unions to reconsider the government's proposal to suspend new farm laws for 18 months.
Asked when the government will hold the next round of talks and if it was engaging with the unions informally, Tomar replied in the negative.
"No. We will inform when formal talks will be held," Tomar told PTI.
When told that protesting unions demand that no formal talks with the government can be held until the police and the administration stop "harassing" them and release the detained farmers, the minister said, "They should talk to the Police Commissioner. I don't want to comment on the law and order issue. That's not my job."
Since the January 22 talks, there has been no meeting between the farmer leaders and the Centre to discuss the farm laws although the government reiterated that its offer stands and doors are open for discussion.
On Tuesday, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) -- the umbrella body of farmers' unions protesting the Central farm laws -- had said that there can be no "formal" talks with the government until the "harassment" of different kinds against the farmers' movement by the police and administration is "immediately stopped".
The SKM had also said no formal proposal for talks has been received by it.
"Though no formal proposal for talks came from the government, we clearly state that the talks will be held only after unconditional release of farmers who are in illegal police custody," SKM had said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an all-arty meeting on Saturday had said the government's offer to suspend the farm laws for 18 months was still on the table and the agriculture minister was just a phone call away to take the talks forward.
The sites of the farmer protest at Delhi's borders have turned into fortresses with police beefing up security and putting up multi-layer barricades to stop the movement of vehicles. Concertina wires and metal spikes have also been put up to keep off people on foot.
The strengthened security measures come after the violence during the Republic Day tractor parade by the farmers.
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Austrian police detain suspect in case of rat poison found in baby food jars on supermarket shelves
Vienna (AP): Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.
HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide further updates as verified details come in.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.
It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.
Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand's baby jars from sale.
The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”
Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.
