Govt to Hold Talks With Farmers Again on January 8
Staff Reporter / NEW DELHI
The seventh round of talks between the farmers’ representatives and the government led by three ministers ended inconclusively today as former insisted on the repeal of the three contentious farm laws right from the beginning, even as the government listed various benefits from the Acts. The next meeting will take place on January 8, farmer leaders said.
“Farmers spoke only about repeal. Government said they will consult further and get back. The next meeting on January 8,” said union leaders in the meeting.
Farmer unions will have their meeting tomorrow to decide the future course of action, they said.
The government is not interested in resolving the issue, said farmer leaders.
“Union ministers are saying the same thing again and again. We will hold a meeting tomorrow to decide our course . We will not go home, till the time the laws are repealed,” BKU leader Rakesh Tikait said.
The two sides took a long break after just about one hour of discussions, during which representatives of protesting farmers had their own food, arranged from langar (community kitchen), as they have been doing for the last few times. However, unlike the last round of talks on December 30, the ministers did not join the union leaders for the langar food and were seen having their own discussion separately during the break, which lasted for almost two hours.
The two sides got together again to resume their discussions at around 5.15 pm, but no headway could be made as the talks remained focussed on the farmers’ demand for the repeal of the Acts. Farmer leaders said the government said it needs to consult internally and thereafter it would come back to the unions.
Farmer unions on Friday warned that they will start shutting all malls and petrol pumps in Haryana if the government fails to resolve their main demands for the repeal of three new farm reform laws and a legal guarantee for MSP in the next round of talks on January 4. Addressing a press conference at the Singhu border protest site, representatives of farmer unions said that only five per cent of the issues raised by them have so far been discussed in meetings with the government, and outlined multiple protest actions over a month if their main demands are not met.
‘Government sensitive on farmers’ issues’
After the meeting, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the government is sensitive about farmers’ issues and offered clause-wise discussion on the three Acts but they could not reach a conclusion.
“The meeting was held in good atmosphere but farmers were adamant on their demands and we could not arrive at any conclusion.
“The next meeting has been decided with due consensus,” he said in response to allegations by farmer leaders that they did not trust the government.
“Several rounds of talks are held during such important issues. The government has to decide keeping in mind farmers of the entire country. Both sides want to resolve the issue. The laws have been made keeping in mind the best interest of farmers,” he said.
Thousands of farmers are protesting at various borders of the national capital for more than a month against these three new laws. The government has presented these laws as major agriculture reforms aimed at helping farmers and increasing their income, but the protesting unions fear that the new legislations have left them at the mercy of big corporates by weakening the MSP and mandi systems.