Talks between Centre & farm unions postponed to Jan 20 amid impasse over agrarian laws

In a big development on Monday, the Union Agriculture Ministry announced the postponement of the 11th round of talks between the Centre and the farmers' unions. This meeting will now be held at 2 pm on January 20 instead of Tuesday. Apart from the 9 rounds of meetings that have taken place between Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar and the farmers' leaders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also met them on one occasion.

However, the talks have failed to break the impasse as the protesting farmers are not willing to budge from their demand for repealing 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. At present, the Supreme Court has stayed the implementation of the laws and constituted an expert committee to submit recommendations on the agrarian laws. While Bhupinder Singh Mann has recused himself from the panel, the other three members will meet for the first time on Tuesday. 

Read: 'Delhi Police Should Decide': SC Refuses To Pass Order On Farmers' Tractor Rally

Standoff continues

On January 15, the Centre's 10th round of talks with farmers' unions concluded with a detailed discussion on all three farm laws especially The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. Speaking to the media, Union Agricultural Minister Narendra Singh Tomar stated that the deliberations were held in a cordial atmosphere. Observing that the Ministers including Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and MoS Commerce Som Parkash tried to address the concerns of farmers, he acknowledged that no agreement could not be reached.

Moreover, he revealed that the farmer leaders had rejected the Centre's request to form a smaller committee to air their grievances. While Tomar urged everyone to respect the Supreme Court's order, BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait maintained that farmers will not appear before the committee constituted by the apex court. Expressing a willingness to continue the deliberations with the Union government, Tikait made it clear that there will be no compromise on the demand of repealing the farm laws and legalising MSP. 

Read: Farmers Stage Protest Rally Against New Farm Laws In Jammu