However, unlike the last round of talks on December 30, the ministers did not join union leaders for the langar meal and were seen having their own discussion in a separate room during the break.
The rift continued for more than an hour with no signs of any progress as the government was also adamant not to repeal the laws and is believed to have suggested a panel to take the matter forward.
The first hour of talks focused only on the three laws and the other key farmer demand for a legal guarantee for the Minimum Livelihood Price (MSP) procurement system did not come up for discussions.
The leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Rakesh Tikait, who is participating in the meeting, told PTI by phone during the break that the first hour of discussion remained focused on the three laws.
“Our demand is the repeal of the laws. We will not accept any alternative such as the creation of the committee,” he said.
When asked if there could be a concrete outcome of the meeting, Tikait said: “I don’t think so. They have to withdraw the laws so that we can end the protest and return to our homes.”
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various borders in Delhi for more than a month against the three laws. They have remained despite heavy rains and waterlogging at protest sites in recent days, in addition to the severe cold weather conditions prevailing in and around the national capital.
The talks are continuing and there has not yet been any discussion on the second agenda related to legal backing for the MSP, Tikait said.
Another union representative, Kavitha Kurungati from Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch, said: “The confrontation continues as the government talks about the benefits of the laws and we are calling for the repeal of those laws.”
The MSP has yet to be discussed, he said.
“We are waiting for the ministers to return to the meeting (after the break). They seem huddled together,” he said later.
Enacted in September 2020, the government has presented these laws as important agricultural reforms aimed at increasing farmers’ incomes.
During the meeting, the government listed various benefits of the three laws, enacted a few months ago, but farmers insisted that the legislation should be withdrawn to address their fears that the new laws would weaken the MSP and mandi systems and leave them in the open. mercy of the big corporations.
The government has maintained that these apprehensions are out of place and has ruled out repealing the laws.
Union Minister of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Railways, Trade and Food, Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is a MP from Punjab, are holding talks with representatives of 41 farmers unions in Vigyan Bhawan.
The meeting began with respect for the farmers who lost their lives during the ongoing protest, sources said.
On December 30, the sixth round of talks was held between the government and farmers’ unions, where a common point was reached on two demands: the decriminalization of stubble burning and the continuation of energy subsidies. .
However, no progress could be made on the two main demands of the protesting farmers: a repeal of the three recent farm laws and a legal guarantee for the MSP’s procurement system.
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