Farmers' Protest: Centre-farmer talks hit a deadlock over repeal of agri-laws; next meeting on January 8

Source: AFP

The seventh round of talks between the government and farmers' unions on January 4 was inconclusive without a consensus on repealing of the three agri-reform laws and a legal guarantee for a higher minimum support price (MSP) for procurement.

While the government reiterated that it was ready for clause-by-clause discussion on the laws,  the farmers' union leaders were adamant on their demand of repealing all the three laws, which they said was the key reason for the protests that started in November last year.

The government, however, said it was hopeful of a solution soon. The next round of meeting will be held on January 8.

"We wanted the unions (farmers) to discuss their objection to the laws clause-wise. We also had some discussions on MSP. But nothing conclusive could be arrived at today. We hope the way we had discussions today, we will resolve the issue in the next meeting on January 8," Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said after the meeting.

The farmers said they will meet on January 5 to decide on the next meeting. The protests, they said, will continue unabated as they will not agree to anything less than repeal of the laws.

"The government is under tremendous pressure. We all said that repealing laws is our demand. We did not want discussions on any other topic But nothing conclusive could be arrived at today. We hope the way we had discussions today, we will resolve the issue in coming days," All India Kisan Mahasabha general secretary and CPI (M) leader Hannah Mollah said after the meeting.

Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Prakash, apart from agriculture minister Tomar, represented the government side while the farmers were represented by leaders from at least 40 farm organisations.

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The sixth round of talks between the two sides concluded on December 30 with a consensus on two of the four demands raised by the protesting farmers. The two sides had arrived at some common ground with the government agreeing on two of the four demands of farmers – removing stubble burning penalty on farmers and withdrawing provisions in the draft Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020, which intend to change the mode of subsidy payment to farmers.

The Samyukt Kisan Union, the umbrella body of farmers’ unions protesting on Delhi borders had threatened that the farmers will lead a tractor parade into Delhi, and across the country, on January 26, if the remaining two demands are not met. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26 this year.

A day before the talks, Tomar, who is leading centre’s side, met defence minister Rajnath Singh on January 3 and discussed the government strategy to resolve the crisis.

Some farmers' groups have threatened that  they will also announce dates for shutting all malls, petrol pumps in Haryana to press for the pending two demands.

READ: Farmers’ protest: Four-point agenda put forward by farmer unions for December 29 meet with Centre

For more than a month now, thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh, are camping along Delhi borders seeking complete repeal of the three agri-reform laws, among other demands.

The Centre has projected these farm laws as major agriculture reforms aimed at helping farmers and increasing their income, but the protesting unions fear that the new legislation has left them at the mercy of big corporates by weakening the MSP and mandi systems.

Read more about Moneycontrol's coverage on Farmers' Protest here