Farmers' Protest: Govt Offers To Put 'Temporary Stay' On Agri Laws, Farmers Insist On Repeal; Next Meet On Jan 22

As per farmer leader, the government proposed to keep the three farm laws suspended for a fixed time period of 1.5 years or so and form a committee comprising of farmer union leaders and government representatives.

(Image: PTI)

New Delhi: The tenth round of talks between Centre and the farmers' representatives concluded on Wednesday evening after 5 hours and the government has offered to amend the three contentious farm laws but farmer leaders said they were adamant on their demand for a complete repeal of the Acts and have also alleged that the Centre was avoiding discussion on a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP). As per reports, farmer leaders said there was no breakthrough in the first two sessions as both sides were stuck on their stated positions vis-a-vis the three farm laws and there was little hope of any outcome other than fixing the date for the 11th round.

While speaking to reporters after the meeting, a farmer leader said that the government proposed to keep the three farm laws suspended for a fixed time period of one and half years or so and form a committee comprising of farmer union leaders and government representatives. The government delegation, headed by Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar, said that the laws would remain suspended till the committee gives its report and urged farmer unions to suspend their agitation till that time. The proposal, however, did not find any support from the farm leaders.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Govt has said it is ready to suspend the laws for one and half a year. In reply, farmers said that there is no point in suspending the laws and made it clear that we want the repeal of the laws: Farmer leader after tenth round of talks <a href="https://t.co/vYqeRuk2LV" rel='nofollow'>https://t.co/vYqeRuk2LV</a> <a href="https://t.co/K1tQN4TeHq" rel='nofollow'>pic.twitter.com/K1tQN4TeHq</a></p>&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1351894297054834689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The laws have already been stayed till further orders by the Supreme Court, which has formed a committee to resolve the deadlock. The committee, which had its first meeting on Tuesday, has been asked to give its report in two months.

Farmer leaders also expressed dissatisfaction over the notices being served to some farmers by the National Investiative Agency (NIA), alleging it was being done just to harass those supporting the agitation, to which the government representatives said they will look into the matter. The two sides took a break after around one hour of discussions when farmer leaders had langar food.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">They also said that a committee would be formed on MSP &amp; the laws &amp; they would implement the recommendations of the committee. We&#39;ll hold a meeting tomorrow &amp; take a decision on the proposal: Hannan Mollah, General Secretary, All India Kisan Sabha <a href="https://t.co/hZI29yfCDf" rel='nofollow'>https://t.co/hZI29yfCDf</a></p>&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1351896947498512385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

During the break, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) general secretary Yudhvir Singh told PTI that the stalemate is continuing over the three laws and he doesn't think any solution will emerge from today's meeting. Both sides, he said, are adamant on their position.

He said the government is insisting on first discussing the three laws and wants to take up the MSP (Minimum Support Price) matter later. "We will insist on a discussion on MSP after the tea break and also try to seek the next date for meeting before January 26," Singh said.

Another farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said, "The government is not ready to repeal the three laws and farmers are not ready for amendments. The government doesn't want to discuss MSP." He also said that no solution will emerge from today's meeting, adding that, "We will meet again on the next date."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UPDATE?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>#UPDATE</a> | The tenth round of talks between farmer unions and the Central government over the three farm laws concludes at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.<br><br>The next round of the meeting to take place on January 22. <a href="https://t.co/uPPtRtKhvi" rel='nofollow'>https://t.co/uPPtRtKhvi</a></p>&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1351891532450729984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The tenth round of talks began at around 2.45 pm with the three ministers greeting farmer leaders on the occasion of Gurupurab. The meeting resumed at around 5.15 pm after a lunch break, but the two sides took another break at around 6 pm.

Tomar along with Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, are holding the talks with the representatives of around 40 farmer unions at the Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital. Before the meeting, the three ministers also met senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.