INDIAN farmers vowed today to continue blockading major roads in Punjab and Haryana until the government withdraws three recent laws opening agriculture up to global agribusiness giants.

Jaskaran Singh of the Kisan (“farmers”) Union said it the protesters had declined an offer of talks from the Narendra Modi government and were holding out for the total defeat of the laws.

Mr Singh said offers from Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Home Minister Amit Shah for negotiations if the farmers agreed to move their protests to a designated area were probably just a ruse to get them to stop blocking the motorways.