NEW DELHI / BATHINDA: The seventh round of talks between the Center and the farm unions Monday was unfinished.
The latter insisted that the new farm laws should be scrapped, which has been at the top of his agenda, and nothing less was acceptable. The government responded and continued to pressure the unions on any alternative to repeal.
The Center suggested that the laws affected the entire country and were therefore relevant beyond Punjab, Haryana and West UP, represented by the majority of the 41 agricultural organizations that participated in the conversations. He said he also needed to discuss the issue with farm unions in other states.
The two parties agreed to meet again on January 8.
As the stalemate continued, the Minister of Agriculture Narendra Tomar and the Minister of Railways and Consumer Affairs Piyush Goyal, who participated in the talks, assured farmers that they would return after further consultations within the government and with panindian agricultural unions.
“We wanted the farmers’ unions to discuss three laws in terms of clauses. It is necessary to make a forward movement from both sides. The government is ready to discuss, taking into account all the alternatives. We were unable to reach any solution as the farmers’ unions stood firm in repealing the laws, ”Tomar said after the meeting.
When asked whether farmers should also give in to end the stalemate, Tomar said: “Svabhaavik roop se taaliyaan donon hee haath se bajtee hain (naturally you need to use both hands to clap).”
However, he said he still hoped there would be a meaningful discussion during the next meeting and that both sides “come to a conclusion.”
During the meeting, Tomar again called on agricultural leaders to think of alternatives to repealing the laws. However, the agricultural unions rejected the suggestion, saying “there is no alternative to repeal and that the government can quickly withdraw it by ordinance” when Parliament is not in session. The minister also wanted them to talk about MSP issues that were discussed even though the unions focused on the laws.
“We only address the issue of repeal. We told them unequivocally that farmers first want to repeal the laws. It is not just about the demand of 40 unions that have committed through talks. In fact, it is the wish of more than 450 farmers’ organizations across the country, ”said Kavitha Kuruganti of Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch after attending the talks.
Monday’s meeting began after a two-minute silence to pay tribute to the more than 55 farmers who died during the protests. Unlike the previous meeting on December 30, when ministers and farmers had shared ‘langar’ (food brought by the unions) at Vigyan Bhawan, the two parties sat separately during the lunch break. After the break, the ministers grouped separately for a few minutes before resuming talks after the break.
Angered by the absence of the ministers, some peasant leaders banged the tables during the meeting and made it clear that they would accept nothing less than the repeal of the three contentious laws. On the MSP issue, union leaders wanted to know when the Center would give a legal guarantee on MSP for crops.
“The ministers told the agricultural leaders that due process must be followed. We then asked when the process would be launched, when the draft would be prepared, when the ordinance would be issued, and when the matter would be brought before Parliament. The ministers said that all these details would be discussed at the next meeting on January 8, ”BKU Krantikari President Surjit Singh Phool told TOI.
BKU Ekta Ugrahan President Joginder Singh Ugrahan said that not much came out of the talks as the Union government is not ready to repeal the laws. “We want nothing less than the repeal of the laws. The government of the Union did not give us a complete guarantee on the PEM and only said that the modalities would be given at the next meeting, ”he said.
“Kanoon wapsi nahin, to ghar wapsi nahin (we won’t go home until the laws are lifted),” said Rakesh Tikait of the Union Bhartiya Kisan, summarizing the mood among farmers, after attending the talks.
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