Talks with farmers 'work in progress', hopefully it is in last stage: Javadekar

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar Wednesday said the government is sensitive to the concerns of farmers as he expressed hope that ongoing deliberations with them, which he termed a "work in progress", over the three agriculture-related laws will yield some results soon.

He said the government has held several rounds of talks with the farmers agitating against the three legislations and is keen to resolve their issues.

"When the talks and negotiations are taking place, it is considered a work in progress. There is no running commentary on any such work in progress," he told reporters at a Cabinet briefing here.

"The government has discussed the concerns raised by farmers during six rounds of talks. The government is sensitive to their concerns and wants to resolve the issues raised by the farmers. This is a work in progress, (and) hopefully (it is) in the last stage," he said He was asked about the proposal sent by the government to farmers after several rounds of talks.

The farmers have rejected the draft in which the government proposed to give them a "written assurance" that the existing Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime for crop procurement will continue.

The government also proposed to make amendments on at least seven counts, including one to allay fears about the weakening of the mandi system.

The proposal, however, did not mention anything about the main demand of protesting farmers which is to repeal all the three laws.