The central government has assured the agitating farmers that it will incorporate the issues raised by them and come up with concrete proposals to amend the three farm Acts on Wednesday.
Addressing a group of reporters after agitating farmers’ meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah, Hannah Mollah, the general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, said the central government had said it would come up with a set of amendments to the contentious farm laws for farmer groups to consider. After that, another round of discussions would be held. “As far as my information is concerned, the sixth round of meeting scheduled for tomorrow stands cancelled now, as we will not wait for the Centre’s proposals,” Mollah told reporters.
Earlier, Shah held a meeting with agitating farmers to break the deadlock over the three farm laws, on a day when the growers called for a nationwide strike, which was supported by political parties. News agency PTI reported quoting unnamed sources that 13 farmer leaders – eight from Punjab and five from various nationwide organizations – were called for the meeting, which began after 8 pm.
Sources said the participating leaders included Mollah and Rakesh Tikait of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU). Some farmer leaders said they first expected the meeting to take place at Shah's residence, but the venue was shifted to the Pusa area.
The meeting assumes significance as farmer leaders have been firm on their demand for a repeal of the three new farm laws enacted in September which they claimed would benefit corporate players, besides ending the mandi system and the minimum support price (MSP) regime.
"We will demand just a 'yes' or a 'no' from Shah," farmer leader Rudru Singh Mansa told reporters earlier in the day at the Singhu border, where thousands of farmers have been protesting for the past 12 days. A 'Bharat Bandh' observed by farmers to press their demands affected life in some states on Tuesday.
The central government had earlier indicated that it was willing to consider changes in some provisions of the three Acts which could include having the option of approaching the civil courts in case of a dispute in contract Act and trade Act and some sort of level playing field in terms of taxes for sale done inside and outside the mandis.
However, sources said the tax proposals could move forward only if states agreed to bring down their levies on trade within mandis to reasonable levels as APMCs fell within their domain. The government, according to some, again assured the farmers that MSP would be maintained, but incorporating it in the Acts was clearly out of the question.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU