Farmers’ Protest | Ready to discuss all issues: Centre to farmer bodies in a fresh invite for talks

The 'Delhi Chalo' farmers' protest along New Delhi borders. (Image: AP)

The Centre on December 24 once again reached out to the protesting farmers urging them to return to the negotiating table.

A fresh letter, addressed to 40 farmers' unions that were present in earlier talks with the government, reiterates the government’s intention to discuss the concerns of the farmers with an open mind to end the protest.

The letter asks the farmers to give a date and a time for a fresh round of talks.

Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, are staging a sit-in protest along Delhi borders since November 26.

“I want to assure you that the government wants to end the protest and discuss issues with good intentions and open mind. Kindly inform us about the time and place as per your convenience for talks to continue,” the letter written by Vivek Aggarwal, joint secretary and CEO PM Kisan on behalf of the government read.

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The farmers are demanding a complete rollback of the new farm reform laws and a guarantee on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system being retained.

The farmers had earlier this week rejected the Centre's offer for the next round of talks saying that there was nothing new that the government had offered. The farmer leaders said they were always ready for a dialogue if the government offered a "concrete" solution.

The fresh letter recalled an earlier letter by the government on December 20 saying it was ready to discuss issues raised by the protesting farmers.

It also asks the farmers that they can include more issues that they want to discuss with the government.

“The talks can take place as per your convenience at Vigyan Bhawan,” the two-page letter read.

Multiple rounds of talks between the Centre and the farmers’ union leaders have ended in a stalemate. Protesting farmers fear that the new laws will dismantle the MSP system and corporatise farming.

Earlier, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had written an open letter to farmers protesting against the three farm reform laws, reiterating his commitment to resolve issues while offering a written assurance that the system of state-set MSPs for farm commodities will remain place.

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The Centre and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have maintained that these laws will benefit farmers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to interact with farmers from six states on December 25 during which they will share their experience on various initiatives taken by the Centre, in yet another outreach attempt.

The farmer leaders, who have rejected a proposal for amending the agri laws, said they were waiting for the Centre to come to the table with an open mind, adding "if the government takes one step, farmers will take two".