Updated: December 7, 2020 7:38:57 am
Farmers union leaders at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Saturday. (File photo)
It is not a “question of revoking” the three laws farmers protest against But “all other options” are open as the government discusses the variety of issues raised by farmer leaders, a senior government official told The Indian Express.
The top government official said that “resolution can only be found through discussions” and added that if farmers are willing to continue their protests for a long time, the government “is also prepared.”
He spoke a day after the government told farmers that it was willing to amend certain provisions of the laws, give a written guarantee on MSP and acquisitions, but representatives of farmers he insisted on the repeal of the three laws.
Giving in to this will underscore the lack of political will and could “permanently damage” prospects for much-needed agricultural reforms, a senior official said. Given this, one option, said a source, could be “to withdraw some provisions or keep the implementation of the contentious law on hold.”
“Of course, we will wait to see what the farmers return to us with on December 9,” said the senior official. “But we are not in a hurry. From now on, whatever the Minister of Agriculture (Narendra Singh Tomar) has told the farmers … that’s the government’s position. “
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Getting ready for the December 9 round of talksOn Sunday, Tomar, who is leading the government team in the talks, held a meeting with his two MPs 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.
On Saturday, before Tomar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal addressed the fifth round of discussions with farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with them and with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Interior Minister Amit Shah.
The sources said the government will present Singh or Shah or both at a “later stage” if it detects any rejection from farmers in the offers the government has made so far.
“The idea was to lower the temperature with the first round of conversations – we were very aware that it would continue for several rounds – and to find common ground so that older people could intervene. However, farmers have not yet shown any sign of giving in, ”said a senior BJP leader. “We have not lost hope that both the government and farmers can find a middle way.”
Still, a section of party 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.”
The senior government official said that the MSP cannot be integrated into the law as it will have significant financial implications and lead to inflation.
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After Saturday’s meeting, Tomar had said that “many issues” had been raised during the discussions, and whatever the outcome, it will be of interest to farmers.
He said that the “APMC Law is a state law” and the government does not “intend to affect the state’s mandis, nor are they affected by the new agricultural laws.”
Government sources had indicated that an extraordinary session of Parliament is being considered to resolve the confrontation, but a decision has not yet been taken on the matter.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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