New Delhi: The government is engaging with farmers’ leaders to decide on the next date of talks, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said Monday. His statement came as farmers’ unions intensified their agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws. The farmers observed a day-long fast Monday. “The meeting will definitely happen. We are engaging with farmers,” Narendra Singh Tomar said.
“The government is ready for discussion anytime. The farmer leaders have to ‘decide and convey’ when they are ready for the next meeting, Tomar added.
Tomar is leading the negotiations with 40 farmer unions. He is being assisted by Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Som Parkash. The previous five rounds of talks between the Centre and 40 farmers’ union leaders have remained inconclusive.
The government has sent a draft proposal along with written assurance of continuing the minimum support price (MSP) system to them. However, farmers’ unions have rejected it and demanded repeal of the laws.
These laws are meant for transforming the lives of farmers, Tomar said. He added that the government policy and its intention behind these laws are clear.
“We tried to convince farmers and farmers’ union leaders. Our wish is that they come for clause-by-clause discussion. If they are ready to express their views clause by clause, we are ready for discussion,” informed Tomar. He also indicated that the government will not repeal the laws under any circumstances.
Earlier in the day, Tomar met Home Minister Amit Shah and discussed about the way forward to end the deadlock.
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Later, the minister also met a delegation of farmers led by the All India Kisan Coordination Committee (AIKCC). This organisation has extended support to the new farm laws. This is the fourth group of farmers who have extended support to the laws in last two weeks.
Farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting at Delhi borders. Their protests are against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020.
The farmers protesting at Delhi’s borders observed a day-long fast Monday. The agitation spread to different parts of India with peasant unions staging demonstrations at district headquarters.
Enacted in September, the three farm laws have been projected by the central government as major reforms in the agriculture sector. These laws will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in India.
However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws eliminate the MSP system. They fear that the laws will do away with the mandis, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.