The protesting farmers’ unions have proposed holding another round of talks with the Center at 11 a.m. on December 29, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said on Saturday.
The decision was made at a meeting of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, a body that brings together 40 farmers’ unions protesting on Delhi’s borders against the three controversial farm laws.
The unions said their agenda for the meeting will focus on repealing the new reforms. “The first two items on our agenda for the talks are the modalities to repeal the three agricultural laws and the mechanism and procedure to present a law that provides a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP),” said Yogendra Yadav from Swaraj India.
Meanwhile, Krantikari Kisan union leader Darshan Pal also announced that farmers will hold a tractor march on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal road on December 30 in protest against the three agricultural laws.
“The toll plazas in Punjab and Haryana will remain open permanently. On December 30 we will organize a tractor march from the Singhu border,” Pal said.
The event comes after the unions met on Friday night to discuss the government’s latest letter inviting them to dialogue.
An official with the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare had also said on Friday that the government expected the next round of meetings to take place in the next two to three days.
Horns blocked in MSP
The government, in an open letter, told farmers that it would not be “logical” to put any new demands related to the Minimum Subsistence Price (MSP) on the agenda, saying it was outside the scope of the new farm laws.
The ministry also reiterated that it is willing to find a “logical solution” to the problems raised by the protesting farmers’ unions.
The farmers reacted and said that their demand for a legal guarantee on the minimum support price will remain the same.
“The MSP cannot separate itself from our demand to repeal these three laws. In these laws, private mandis are mentioned. Who will make sure that our harvest is sold to a fixed MSP if it is not there?” said a farmer leader.
Rejected proposal
The previous letter also said that in its preliminary proposal sent on December 9, the government had proposed to make the necessary amendments on at least seven issues, including providing a “written guarantee” to farmers that the existing MSP system would continue. .
But the unions rejected the proposal in an email sent by Darshan Pal on December 16.
The previous five rounds of talks between the government and the unions failed to break the deadlock, as farmers stick with repealing the three laws and camping at various border points in Delhi starting on November 26.
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