Talks between center and farmers conclude, Next meet on 5 December.
The fourth round of the farmers meeting with the Central government concluded at the Vigyan Bhavan on Thursday evening. The next round of talks between the two is now scheduled for December 5. The Minister of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar and his colleague Piyush Goyal along with 40 union leaders attended the meeting.
As the meeting began Mr Tomar referred to the doubts of the farmers. The government assured the farm leaders that all their concerns will be addressed. The group of farmer leaders marked several voids and weaknesses in the farm laws that were hurriedly passed at the Parliament this September. The farmer leaders also did not consume the lunch offered to them by the government but instead went on to eat their own food that they carried with themselves from the protest point.
The farmer leaders proposed to the government that they should hold a special Parliament session to withdraw the new farm laws. The Agro Minister on the other side assured that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) will not be demented and no changes will be made to it.
The government on the third round of talks which was held on Tuesday December 2 had asked the farmers to develop a list of what they thought were against the interest of the farmers. This would help the central government to hold a detailed discussion about the farmers’ needs and demands. On Wednesday, December 3 before the meeting Agriculture Minister told the press that he did not see any requirement of placing MSP in the laws as it was never a part of the law. MSP is an administrative decision and it will remain as it is currently.
The farmers are uncompromising in their demand and wants that the Central Government ensures them that their produce is procured at MSP and this should be written in the new farm laws.
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