A day before the crucial seventh round of talks between the Center and protesting farmers’ unions, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday met with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed the government’s strategy to resolve the current crisis as soon as possible, sources said.
Tomar discussed with Singh “all possible options” to find a “middle way” to resolve the crisis, the sources added.
Singh, who served as agriculture minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s former cabinet, has become a key problem solver and is working mainly behind the scenes on this issue.
Protesting farmers who have been camping on Delhi’s borders for the past 39 days in defiance of chilling cold and now rains have threatened to intensify their protest if their two main demands – the repeal of the three new farm laws and legal backing of the minimum support price. (MSP) – are not accepted by the government at the January 4 meeting.
The rains since Saturday night caused flooding in the premises of agitation, but the unions affirmed that “we will not move from here until our demands are met.”
After five rounds of inconclusive talks, the government and 40 farmers’ unions reached common ground during the sixth round of negotiations on December 30 to resolve the concerns of farmers protesting the increase in electricity rates and electricity. penalties for stubble burning, but the two sides remained stagnant. the main contentious issues of the repeal of the three agricultural laws and a legal guarantee for the MSP.
On January 1, Tomar told PTI that the government expects a “positive outcome” in its next meeting with farmers’ unions on January 4, but refrained from predicting whether the seventh round of talks will be the last.
When asked if he expects the January 4 meeting to be his last, the minister said: “I cannot say for sure now. I am not an astrologer. I am hopeful that whatever decision is made (at the meeting) will be in the best interests of the country and the farmers. “Last week, protesting farmers’ unions issued an” ultimatum “that they will march to Delhi with a” parade of tractors “on Republic Day if their demands are not met in the next round of talks.
“The farmers movement delivered an ultimatum to the government of India and announced that the farmers will march to Delhi on January 26,” Sankyukta Kisan Morcha, a body that brings together some 40 unions in protest, said in a statement.
Thousands of farmers have been protesting at various borders of the national capital for more than a month demanding the repeal of the Agreement on Price Assurance and Agricultural Services for Farmers (Empowerment and Protection), Law on Trade in Agricultural Products and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation ), and the Essential Commodities Act (Amendment).
Enacted in September 2020, the government has presented these laws as important agricultural reforms aimed at increasing farmers’ incomes, but protesting farmers have expressed concern that these laws would weaken the MSP and mandi systems and leave them at the mercy. of the big corporations.
The government has maintained that these apprehensions are out of place and has ruled out repealing the laws.
While various opposition parties and people from outside have come out in support of farmers, some farmer groups have also met with agriculture minister Tomar in recent weeks to extend their support for the three laws.
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