Updated: December 6, 2020 7:34:15 am
Representatives of the farmers’ unions brought their own food for Saturday’s meeting at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. (AND ME)
The CENTRAL government found itself cornered on Saturday with the farmers’ unions once again assuming a maximalist position demanding the repeal of the three agricultural laws.
To resolve the standoff, an option to convene a special session of Parliament is being considered, a senior government source told The Indian Express. “It’s not ruled out, but no decision has been made,” the source told a question about whether a special session was being considered.
On Thursday, the leader of the opposition to Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, wrote to President Om Birla requesting a short winter session of Parliament to address “very important issues”, including the “ongoing farmer agitation” . But sources in the president’s office said the government had not yet discussed such a possibility.
On Saturday, talks between the government and representatives of the farmers’ unions were inconclusive. However, both parties agreed to meet again on December 9.
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Briefing reporters after a five-hour marathon session, the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters: “The discussion took place in a very cordial atmosphere. We said there is no threat to the minimum support price and any doubts about it are completely unfounded. “
Representatives from 40 farmers’ organizations participated in the meeting that started at 2.30 pm and continued until around 7 pm. Tomar was accompanied by the Minister of Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal, and the Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Som Prakash.
Indeed, despite spelling out his intention Thursday to address key farmer demands, such as leveling the playing field between APMC mandis and private markets, mandatory merchant registration, and recourse to civil courts when disputes arise, the government was surprised by the hardening of the position of the agricultural unions on Saturday. At one point, they even threatened to leave.
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The sources said that Tomar offered to amend some provisions of the farm laws and even agreed to give a written guarantee on MSP and acquisitions, but representatives of the farmers’ unions rejected the offer.
Just before the tea break, the unions put out a ‘Yes or No’ sign seeking the government’s response to their demand for the three laws to be repealed. “The ministers were not making a decision. So we took a ‘Yes or No’ sign and showed it to him, ”said Shiv Kumar Kakka, leader of Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh.
When asked about this, Tomar said: “During the discussions, many issues come to the fore … Whatever the outcome, it will be of interest to farmers.”
The agriculture minister said the government was willing to take steps to strengthen the CMPA. “The APMC Act is a state law. We do not intend to affect the state’s mandis nor are they being affected by the new agricultural laws. The government is willing to clear up any doubts about the CMPA, ”he said.
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“We wanted precise suggestions from the representatives of the agricultural unions on various issues… This would have made it easier for us to find a way. We will wait for that now when we meet again on December 9, ”said Tomar.
“Ours is just a demand: repeal the three agricultural laws and make a law for the guarantee of the MSP,” said Rashtriya leader Kisan Mahasangh, Kakka.
When demanding that the MSP be integrated into the law, the Union ministers explained the difficulty of doing so. “The Union Ministers said that there are different APMC mandis in different states. Mandi crops and systems also vary from state to state. We have to discuss this with officials and other ministries. We will do our homework on this, ”said a source.
Before the talks on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed “various possibilities to end the stalemate” with some senior cabinet colleagues, including Interior Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Tomar and Goyal. The meeting started around 10 am and lasted until about 1 pm.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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