With the next round of talks with farmers scheduled for December 9, the government is ready for the long term, as a solution to the stalemate “can only be found through discussions,” said a senior government official. There is no “chance to repeal” the three laws farmers are protesting against, but “all other options” are open as the government discusses the range of issues raised by farmer leaders, the official told The Indian Express.
Preparing for the December 9 round of talks, on Sunday, Tomar, who leads the government team in the talks, held a meeting with his two deputies Kailash Choudhary and Parshottam Rupala.
The government would have preferred to hold discussions with a smaller team, said the senior official, as “it is a challenge to hold negotiations with 35-40 people at the same table.” At the first meeting on December 1, the government proposed that a small team including some government officials could investigate the issue, but representatives of the farmers’ unions rejected that offer, saying that discussions should take place with everyone, even if some of them speak.
Still, a section of BJP leaders admitted that there could have been more groundwork when the protests broke out. “Some leaders feel that if more time had elapsed between the introduction of the bills and their passage, we could have avoided that scenario,” said one leader. “At least some opposition parties would not have the opportunity to support the protesters if we had accepted their demand to send it to a parliamentary panel.”
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