New Delhi: After being locked in with 40 farmer leaders from across the country in a conference room at the Vigyan Bhawan here, the Centre on Thursday walked out of the fourth round of talks over the three new farm laws, offering the perception that they are willing to meet the farmers halfway on several of their demands.
But halfway is not something the farmers are ready to settle for and have said the meeting was inconclusive and more needed to be discussed at the next round of talks scheduled for 2 pm on Saturday, December 5.
After Thursday's talks, Som Prakash, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry said, "Points of discussion have been prepared. Discussions will be held on these points on December 5 and we hope that the agitation will end the same day."
What the govt is willing to give
While Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar came out of the talks telling the media that they were constructive, he also gave way that the Centre was willing to climb down on demands of assuring Minimum Support Price, ensuring the Agriculture Produce Market Committees are not supplanted by private mandis and providing a room for raising disputes at the judicial level before a court instead of at the Sub-Divisional Magistrate-level.
"People have reservations on MSP (Minimum Support Price). I would like to reiterate that the MSP system will continue and we will assure farmers about it," Tomar said, with other government officials adding that legally provisioning the MSP might just end the deadlock at the Capital's borders.
"Government has no ego, it was discussing with the farmers with an open mind. Farmers are concerned that the new laws will end APMCs. We will contemplate seeing that APMC is further strengthened and its usage increase. New laws lay down the provision for private mandis outside the purview of APMC. So, we'll also contemplate having an equal tax for private as well as mandis under the APMC Act," the Agriculture Minister told reporters outside the Vigyan Bhawan.
The farmers also noted that if trade is allowed outside the purview of APMCs, it will be on the basis of PAN Cards, which can be easily acquired by anyone. So, the trader should be registered, they said. So, we will ensure that the trader gets registered, Tomar told the press after the meeting.
The Agriculture Minister added that the farmers also raised their concerns with the ordinance penalising stubble burning with a fine of Rs 1 crore and jail term and the recent amendments to the Electricity Act.
Farmers stick to their guns
However, even as government officials seemed hopeful after Thursday's meeting for a resolution after the December 5 talks, the main contention the farmers had was that the Centre was still unwilling to take them seriously about repealing the three farm laws. Many farmer leaders walked out of the meeting, saying the talks were a start but had made "little progress" on Thursday.
"The issue is about the complete rollback of the laws. Not only one but discussions will also be held on several issues. Farmers want the laws to be taken back but the government wants to talk about MSP and amendment to the Acts," Rakesh Tikait, spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, said, adding that while the government's "indications" over the MSP were fine, much more needed to be discussed and that the farmers' agitation at the borders will continue.
Harjinder Singh Tanda, Azaad Kisan Sangharsh Committee, another farmer leader who attended the meeting said the first half of the meeting did not seem hopeful but that the farmers' pressure on the Centre seemed visible in the second half of talks on Thursday. He maintained that the discussions were held in a conducive atmosphere.
"The laws are wrong. In the next meeting, we will put pressure on the government. They will have to say that they will take back the laws. In my opinion, it will be finalised in the meeting day after tomorrow," Tanda added.
Speaking to Millennium Post, Kisan Union leader Buta Singh said that although there was no success they are confident about their demands. "We will again meet on December 5. The anger of people is at its peak and the government needs to acknowledge that," he added.
An indefinite impasse
Given that the deadlock between the farmers and the Centre has now reached the discussion table, the farmer leaders have said their stir will continue until their demands are met. While the government was forced to buckle and call all 40 farmer leaders for the Thursday meeting, its attitude of suggesting amendments instead of considering repealing the laws has hit a nerve in the farmers' camps.
According to farmer leaders who were at the meeting, the Central government had no answers to the queries put forward by them. "The Central government agreed with us on eight demands and suggested amendments, however, we rejected it. But we were stuck on the taking back of the three ordinances and the MSP guarantee," a statement by the farmer union leaders said.
In addition, the farmers' unions are expected to hold an internal meeting on Friday at the Singhu Border to discuss their further plan of action.
And as support for the farmers' gathers storm across the country and many of the Bharatiya Janata Party's political allies having chosen which side to be on, Jannayak Janata Party, the BJP's main coalition partner in the Haryana government has demanded a withdrawal of cases registered in the state against agitating farmers for trying to reach the Capital's borders.
Meanwhile, as the negotiators prepared for Thursday's meeting, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met with Home Minister Amit Shah and urged him to find an early resolution to the deadlock. He said the protests were already harming the state's economy and the nation's security.
Singh said common ground must be found soon and the two sides should not take rigid positions on the matter.
Asked if he was trying to mediate between the agitating farmers and the central government, Singh said, "It is for them to resolve... we have reiterated Punjab's position," he said.