Farm laws: Centre-farmers talks inconclusive, unions threaten to intensify agitation

The eleventh round of talks between the government and representatives of the Farmers Union ended on Friday without any solution in sight as the farmer leaders stuck to their demands for a complete repeal of three farm laws, even as the Centre asked them to reconsider its proposal for putting the laws on hold for 12-18 months.

A day after Samyukta Kisan Morcha rejected the Centre's proposal to put new farm laws on hold for about 18 months, the government told farmer unions during the eleventh round of talks that they can come "if they have a better proposal".

"We gave a proposal to farmers and if they have a better proposal then they can come to us," the government is learnt to have told the farmers during the meeting.

After the meeting, Surjeet Singh Phul, state president of BKU Krantikari (Punjab) said that no date has been fixed for the next round of talks.

Rakesh Tikait, Spokesperson, Bhartiya Kisan Union, said the government offered to put the implementation of the farm laws on hold for two years and said that the next round of meeting can take place only if farmer unions are ready to accept the proposal.

Farmer leaders said they will intensify their agitation now and alleged that the government's approach was not right during the meeting, reported PTI. While the meeting lasted for almost five hours, the two sides sat face to face for less than 30 minutes. In the very beginning, the farmer leaders informed the government that they have decided to reject the proposal made by the government in the last round of talks on Wednesday.

The ministers present in the talks -- Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash -- will shortly address the media about the dialogue.

The protesting farmer unions had on Thursday rejected the proposal to put new farm laws on hold for about 18 months and insisted on their demand for the repeal of the three laws. A press release issued by Samyukta Kisan Morcha after a full general body meeting on Thursday said that "the proposal put forth by the government yesterday was rejected".

The protesting farmer unions and the government-held the 10th round of talks on Wednesday.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said after the talks that the government had proposed that implementation of farm laws should be kept on hold for a period of one to one-and-a-half years.

He had said that representatives of farmers' unions and the government can discuss all issues related to the farmers' agitation during the period so that an appropriate solution can be found.

On January 11, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the three laws till further orders and appointed a four-member panel to resolve the impasse.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws - Farmers` Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

(With agency inputs)