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Farmer-Centre talks end without headway, next meeting on Friday even as Govt refuses to repeal farm laws

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, were present at the meeting with the representatives of 40 farmer unions at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Farmer-Centre talks end without headway, next meeting on Friday even as Govt refuses to repeal farm laws

(IANS)

Even as the protests by the farmers demanding the repeal of farm laws has failed to yield any result, the seventh round of talks between the Centre and the protesting farmers that was held today concluded without any solution or headway as the government has categorically said that the contentious farm laws would not be repealed, which is the main demand of the farmers.

The eighth round of meeting between the two sides is scheduled for January 8, Friday.

In today’s meeting the government has proposed to set a panel to take the matter forward, PTI reported.

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Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait, who participated in the meeting, told PTI that the first hour of discussion remained focussed on the three laws. “Our demand is the repeal of the laws. We will not agree to any alternatives such as the setting of the committee,” he said.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, were present at the meeting with the representatives of 40 farmer unions at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

Farmers’ representatives refused to accept the option of the amendment offered by the government, insisting that the laws be repealed. “Agriculture minister Narendra Tomar is ‘still insisting that these laws are beneficial for farmers’,” said Sarwan Pandher, who attended the meeting as part of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, according to NDTV.

“Tomar said that laws have been brought through parliament and the government is ready to amend the laws and incorporate the suggestions of farmers,” said Pandher.

On December 30, the sixth round of talks between the government and the farmer unions led to the two sides agreeing on decriminalising stubble burning and continuing power subsidies.

The two sides took a break after an hour of talks to allow union representatives to eat food arranged from langar (community kitchen). Unlike the meeting on December 30, the ministers did not join the union representatives for the langar food and were seen talking to each other during the break, PTI reported.

The two sides resumed their talks at around 5.15 pm but did not make progress. Interestingly, the two sides did not discuss another key demand of farmers, legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP) procurement system.

The farmers had earlier threatened to intensify protest by shutting malls and petrol pumps if today’s talks with the Centre fail. “Our demands remain the same. The farm laws must be repealed. The two amendments need to be rolled back and the government must listen. Our agitation will continue,” Jageer Singh Dalewal, a Bharat Kisan Union member said.

The farmers have threatened to hold a rally on Republic Day, January 26, if their demands are not met.

Last month, the Supreme Court had ordered that a special committee be formed, insisting that the Centre’s negotiations have failed. “Your negotiation will again fail as they (the farmers) won’t agree,” the bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde had observed.

Earlier, at the press conference organised by the seven-member coordination committee of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a joint front of 40 farmer organisations that are protesting for over a month at the Delhi borders said that the farmers shall ‘peacefully and non-violently’ lead a tractor parade into Delhi and across the country on Republic Day, January 26.

The farmer leaders had also said that if the talks on January 4 do not succeed then they will organise a ‘march or parade’ from Singhu border and Shahjahanpur to Delhi. They will organise tractor and trolley rallies from January 6 to 20. On Lohri, which is on January 13, the copies of the farm laws shall be burnt and January 18 will be celebrated as Mahila Kisan Diwas to mark and honour the women protesters.

(With agency inputs)

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