Farmers Protest | Union ministers start ninth round of talks with protesting farmer unions
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi for over a month now against the three agri reform laws. PTI
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The ninth round of talks between protesting farmer unions and three central ministers got underway in Delhi on January 15 to break the over-a-month-long deadlock on the three new agri reform laws. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, are holding the talks with the representatives of around 40 farmer unions at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
Ahead of the talks,
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that the Centre is looking forward to positive discussions with the farmers. Tomar said the government is ready to hold discussions with farmer unions leaders with an open mind.
Today’s talks come a day after
Bhartiya Kisan Union national president Bhupinder Singh Mann recused himself from the four-member committee appointed by the Supreme Court to resolve the deadlock between farmers and the Centre over the new agri-marketing laws.
The 4-member committee was asked to submit its report to the Supreme Court within two months of its first sitting, which is to take place within 10 days. Meanwhile,
The government on Friday asked protesting farmers to form an informal group to prepare a concrete proposal about their objections and suggestions on the three farm laws for further discussion at their next meeting on January 19 to end the long-running protest at various Delhi borders, but unions stuck to their main demand of a complete repeal of the three Acts. As nearly five hours of talks between 41 unions and three central ministers did not reach a decisive stage in the ninth round of talks at Vigyan Bhawan here, the two sides decided to meet again the next Tuesday. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told farmer leaders at the meeting that the government has been flexible in its approach and urged the same from them.