Farmers have been protesting the contentious laws since last week.
New Delhi:
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will lead the talks with farmers who have been summoned by the government today in an attempt to find a solution to the mass protests near Delhi against the new agricultural laws. Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar, although not the chief negotiator, will be present during the discussions.
Sources say that in talks with farmers, the government is likely to reaffirm that the three laws at the center of the protests will not be withdrawn. However, the government will reassure farmers about the Minimum Livelihood Price (MSP) and government markets or mandis. Thousands of farmers across India fear that laws enacted in September, aimed at bringing reforms to the agricultural sector by allowing farmers to sell anywhere in the country, will deprive them of guaranteed minimum prices. They are also concerned that government markets or mandi will be wiped out, taking away their assured profits.
The fears are unfounded, farmers will reassure themselves at all levels, according to sources.
The top ministers of the BJP-governed states are likely to be asked to reinforce the government’s claims by explaining how the reforms on the ground have worked.
Given that the main demand from farmers, the cancellation of the new laws, will not be met, the talks are likely to continue, the sources say, and for that, the government may offer a committee to carry the negotiations forward.
On Monday, several union ministers and BJP leaders urged farmers to abandon “misconceptions” about farm laws, stating that they had nothing to do with the MSP and “mandis” mechanism, which would continue, along with the purchase. of the grain government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on a visit to his constituency of Lok Sabha, Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, underscored the message and accused the opposition of misleading farmers.
“Farmers are being misled about these historic farm reform laws by the very people who have misled them for decades,” he said, in an apparent reference to parties supporting the protest. He reiterated that farmers who wanted to follow the old trading system, referring to the ‘mandis’, where they can get the MSP, are still free to do so. But the three laws gave them new options to sell for more, he said.
“I want to say this from the banks of Mother Ganges, we are not working with the intention of deceiving. Our intentions are as sacred as the water of the Ganges river … If someone thinks that the above system is better, how is this? Does the law stop anyone, bhai? PM Modi said.
Several opposition parties have come out in support of the farmers.
Congressional leader Rahul Gandhi said: “Annadata (farmers) are on the streets and lies are being spread on television.”
The government says the new laws will provide farmers with better opportunities and incorporate new technologies into agriculture.
In a series of tweets in Hindi, BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “The new agricultural laws do not end the mandis of the Agricultural Products Market Committee (APMC). The mandis will continue to function as they have. The new laws have given farmers the freedom to sell their produce anywhere. Whoever gives farmers the best price will be able to buy their produce inside or outside the mandis, “he said.
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