11th Farmers-Centre meet ends inconclusively, no date fixed for next round of talks

Farmers' unions and the Centre failed to reach a middle ground on Friday as the 11th round of discussion ended inconclusively. While the meeting on Friday lasted for nearly five hours, farmers representatives have said that discussions were held for less than 30 minutes. No date has been fixed for the next round of meeting, as per sources. 

Moreover, sources have informed that during the meeting on Wednesday, the Union Government has expressed that it has provided unions with all possible options. Centre also expressed that the farmers' unions must deliberate internally and reach a conclusion before intimating the government of their decision for the next round of discussion. The development comes a day after the agitating unions rejected the government's proposal to hold off the three farm laws for 1.5 years and ensure a clause-wise discussion by an inclusive committee. 

As per PTI, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has told the representatives of the agitating unions that the Centre is ready for another meeting if farmers want to discuss the proposal on suspending the laws. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha - a body of nearly 40 farmers' union against the laws - had stated that it has rejected the proposal put forth after a full general body meeting on Thursday. Earlier, the Centre had agreed not to penalise farmers for stubble burning and to continue the present mechanism of giving subsided electricity for agricultural use. 

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The farmers' unions reiterated its firm resolve in proceeding with the tractor parade in Delhi on the occasion of Republic Day despite the Delhi Police suggesting against it. Moreover, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha has stated that a 3-day big protest in Kolkata will take place from January 20 to January 22 and that the protest is expected to intensify in a few days. Farmers have now been protesting against the three laws for over 57 days as the impasse continues. 

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The three laws in contention are - The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. 

Farmers to stage tractor rally on Jan 26

On the occasion of the Republic Day on January 26, the agitating farmers have decided to stage a tractor rally on the outer ring road of Delhi, as a part of the ongoing protest against the three farm laws. The Delhi Police have advised against the tractor rally, however, the farmers remain stern on their resolve to proceed. This comes despite the Supreme Court's stay on the implementation of farm laws. On January 12, the Supreme Court constituted a 4-member committee to hold discussions and end the ongoing impasse between the Centre and the farmers.

READ | SC Panel Holds 1st Meeting With Farmers; 10 Unions Air Frank Views About Agrarian Laws

On Thursday, the Supreme Court-constituted committee held its first meeting with farmers' unions across the country via video conferencing to resolve the standoff over the farm laws. Even as BKU president Bhupinder Singh Mann has opted out of the panel, the three other members- agricultural economist Ashok Gulati, Pramod Kumar Joshi- Director, South Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute and Shetkari Sanghatana president Anil Ghanwat interacted with 10 farm unions. These unions not only gave their frank views about the agrarian laws but also gave suggestions to improve the implementation of the laws.

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