Updated January 4th, 2021 at 15:47 IST
Farmer protests: 8th round of negotiations over Farm Laws begin with hopes to end deadlock
Ahead of the meeting, a two-minute silence was observed for the farmers who had lost their lives during the prolonged agitation over the Farm Laws.
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Amid the 40-day deadlock over the Farm Laws, the 8th round of Centre-farmer talks began on Monday, with a possibility of a breakthrough on the cards. Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal, and Som Parkash along with government officials are representing the Centre in the meeting. Ahead of the meeting, a two-minute silence was observed for the farmers who had lost their lives during the prolonged agitation.
The 8th round of talks come with high hopes with the Centre expecting a 100 percent resolution. This, after the last farmer talks, yielded some positive results after the Centre agreed to 2 out of 4 demands put forward by the 40 farmer union leaders. The standstill, however, continued with the farmers demanding a complete repeal of the 3 agrarian laws. On this, the government has made it clear that the laws will not be repealed.
Read: Every Farmer-labourer Part Of Movement A 'satyagrahi', They Will Take Back Their Rights: Rahul
Read: Will Burn Copies Of New Farm Laws On Lohri: Farmer Leaders
Clause to clause negotiation: Sources
Meanwhile, ANI sources in the government have said that the Centre is likely to discuss farm laws clause by clause with two demands of farmers' unions -- repeal of the three farm laws and legalisation of Minimum Support Price (MSP) -- still unresolved.
"While the government is ready to work with farmers on the issue of MSP, it needs to ask farmers about their demand for the repeal of three farm laws. MSP will be relevant only when the government can discuss laws with farmers and convince them of these being in their well-being," stated the source.
Sources in the know of the matter also informed that the unions also harbour differences on the priority of these demands. "There are few who believe if MSP is legalised, laws can be discussed. However, there are also those who only talk of the repeal of these laws," stated the source.
Read: Punjab Based Farmer Turns Truck Into Makeshift Apartment At Singhu Border Amid Protests
Read: 'Going For Talks Hoping For Solution': Agriculture Minister Before 7th Centre-farmer Talks
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Published January 4th, 2021 at 15:47 IST
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