Farmers camping at Singh Border on Friday night. (Express Photo: Amit Mehra)Farmers’ Protest Today Live Updates: As the farmers’ protest entered the tenth day, representatives of their union are set to meet the government for another round of talks on Saturday, after the previous two rounds failed to yield any resolution. Hopeful of breaking the deadlock, sources said the government was willing to even give a written assurance to farmers on the continuance of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and the manner of procurement to farmers.
“A written assurance on MSP and procurement is just short of putting it down in law,” a source told The Indian Express, indicating the distance the government was willing to walk to placate the farmers.
Having announced its intention to address key concerns of farmers such as levelling the playing field between APMC mandis and private markets, registration of traders, and allowing farmers’ recourse to civil courts for dispute resolution, the central government Friday internally discussed options on how to incorporate these changes. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar met senior officials in Krishi Bhawan and went through the 10-page note mailed by farmers’ unions on Thursday, and the substance of the talks during the seven-hour discussion later that day.
After Thursday’s talks, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had hinted that the Modi government could amend three major provisions in the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act.
Meanwhile, farmers at Singhu Border have called for a nationwide protest, and announced a Bharat Bandh on December 8. Addressing a press conference on Friday, union leader Gurnam Singh Chadoni said that if the Centre did not accept their demands to repeal the laws during Saturday’s talks, they would intensify their agitation and occupy the toll plazas on same day.
It was a crisis foretold. The farmer protests on the borders of Delhi and their discussions with the government at Vigyan Bhavan — another round of talks will be held Saturday — are a rerun of the concerns raised in Parliament this September over the three farm Bills, and suggestions which the government chose to ignore.
The Opposition had urged the government not to pass the Bills in a hurry, but to send them for Parliamentary scrutiny given the sweep, intent and implications. From MSP to mandi system, contract farming to dispute resolution mechanism, these concerns of the farmers had been flagged by MPs, even from parties such as AIADMK and BJD which are considered friendly to the government. Yet Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who is now leading the talks with the farmers, told Lok Sabha on September 17: “I want to request the farmers not to get influenced by disinformation for political ends (rajnitik drishti se kiye gaye kisi bhi dushprachar se prabhavit na ho).”
Click here to what members said during the debates in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on September 17 and September 20.