Farmers' agitation: Talks with Centre inconclusive; next meeting on January 8

The seventh round of talks between protesting farmers' unions and three central ministers ended inconclusively on Monday as the former insisted on the repeal of the three contentious farm laws right from the beginning, even as the government listed various benefits from the Acts. The next meeting will take place on January 8, farmer leaders said.

Union Minister Som Prakash met them during the lunch. Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal and Som Parkash along with government officials and representatives of farmers observed a two-minute silence for farmers who died during the ongoing protest.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said he remains hopeful of a solution in the next meeting on January 8, but asserted that efforts need to be made from both sides for a solution to be reached (taali dono haathon se bajti hai).

Tomar said no outcome could be reached in the seventh meeting because the farmer leaders remained adamant on one issue of repeal of the laws, despite the government wanting a clause-wise discussion on the legislation.

Farmer leaders, however, alleged that it was the government's "ego problem" that was coming in the way of resolving the issues and they insisted they would not relent on their key demands for the repeal of the three laws and a legal guarantee for the MSP (minimum support price) system for procurement of their crops.

Earlier in the day, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait claimed that a total of 60 farmers have so far lost their lives during the ongoing farmers’ protest against the new farm laws. He further said that one farmer is dying every 16 hours and it is the responsibility of the government to give an answer.