Little headway in talks between Govt and farmers

The eighth round of talks between the government and protesting farmers seems to have made little progress on January 8 in breaking the deadlock. Union ministers have said laws are meant for the entire nation and not only Punjab and Haryana. The farmers side, however, stuck to its demand saying let the states bring in their own legislation. The next round of talks will take place on January 15.
“Our ghar wapsi can happen only if you do ‘law wapsi’,” one farmer leader said at the meeting.

“It seems you (the government) do not want to resolve the issue as talks have been happening for so many days. In that case, please give us a clear answer and we will go. Why to waste everyone’s time,” he said, according to a PTI report.

All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) member Kavitha Kuruganti, who was also present in the meeting, said the government has told unions it cannot and will not repeal these laws.

The three new agricultural laws, legislated in September 2020, have sparked a furore across the country in the past few months, with protesting farmers threatening to hold a tractor rally in the national capital on Republic Day if their demands are not met.

The protesters’ side is being represented by over 40 farmer leader, according to a release from the Agriculture Ministry. Besides Mr. Tomar, the government side is being represented by Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab.

One farmer leader Sarvar Singh Pandhera reportedly said that the government is sticking to its claim that most farmers and their unions are backing the new laws. “The government is adamant that it won’t repeal the laws….talks are stuck. It doesn’t look like there will be any results. It is possible that they will sweet talk us into further talks,” Pandher said.

The last meeting, on January 4, failed to break the stalemate. On Thursday, the farmers took out a tractor rally along the Delhi borders – a rehearsal for the main one planned for January 26 if the talks fail.

“I am hopeful that talks will be held in a positive atmosphere and a solution will be found. During discussions, each side has to take steps to reach a solution,” Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar said today ahead of the talks, according to ANI. He met Union Home Minister Amit Shah today ahead of the talks.
The meeting between farmer unions and government representatives took place at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi a little after 2.30 pm.