Stagnation continues in MSP, repeal of new farm laws.
Protesting farmers and central ministers have reached an agreement on decriminalizing stubble burning and safeguarding energy subsidies, two out of four items on the negotiating table during the final round of talks this year.
However, stagnation continues on the two biggest demands: the repeal of three agricultural market reform laws and a legal guarantee of minimum support prices (MSP) for agricultural products. Additional discussion will take place on these issues at the next meeting on January 4.
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‘Positive note’
“We have solved 50% of the problems. The meeting was conducted in a cordial atmosphere and concluded on a positive note, ”Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters after the meeting. He and other ministers Piyush Goyal and Som Parkash joined the farmers’ langar luncheon for the first time in the negotiations, in a show of goodwill.
“Agricultural unions were concerned that farmers would face fines and imprisonment for stubble burning cases under the air quality ordinance in the capital. We have agreed to exclude farmers from these sanctions. Farmers also felt that the amendments to the Electricity Law would harm them and wanted to ensure the continuity of state energy subsidies for irrigation purposes. We have also reached an agreement on this, ”he added.
With temperatures around the capital approaching zero, he urged peasant leaders to send home the women, children and the elderly among the protesters. Tens of thousands of protesting farmers have camped on the outskirts of Delhi for 35 days in a row.
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The peasant leaders also welcomed the resolution of these two problems, but said the protest would not end as long as the elephant in the room had not yet been resolved.
“There was some progress today, but it was along predictable lines,” said Kavitha Kuruganti of Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch, noting that solutions to these two problems had already been envisioned in the Center’s December 9 proposal. On the thorniest issue of the three controversial land reform laws, he said the government asked farmers to suggest other options besides repealing the laws. “They wanted us to propose alternatives, but we keep saying that there are no alternatives to repeal. This is our key demand and the agitation will continue until the laws are repealed, ”he added.
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Regarding an MSP law, the Center proposed a small committee of experts to examine various implications. “There was a long and detailed discussion on PEM, but no consensus was reached. The agriculture minister said that a legal guarantee that all agricultural products would be purchased at a fixed price was not financially viable. He suggested a committee to discuss it further, but we told them to repeal the three agricultural laws first and then a committee can be set up to look at all these issues together, ”said Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh leader Abhimanyu Kohar.
RKMS leaders will return to their base in Bhopal on Thursday, but only to hold demonstrations and mobilize more protesters, Kohar said. “This is not about ending the unrest until our demands are met,” he added.
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