Farmers Protest Latest Update: The 9th round of talks between the farmer unions and Centre remained inconclusive as both the parties could not come to any resolution. However, the next round of talks will be held on January 19. The meeting on Friday discussed three agricultural laws before the lunch break. The MSP Guarantee act also discussed after the break.

During the talks, the protesting farmer unions stuck to their demand for a complete repeal of three contentious farm laws.

At the meeting that lasted for nearly five hours, including a lunch break, farmers unions said they are committed to continuing holding direct talks to resolve the over-one-month-long deadlock over three agri laws, even as a committee has been formed by the Supreme Court to resolve the deadlock.

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 the national capital.

“The government welcomes the Supreme Court order regarding the farmers’ agitation. The government will put forth its views before the committee (appointed by the court). We are trying to resolve the issue through dialogue,” Tomar said during the talks.

Tomar also urged the farmer leaders to be flexible in their approach as has been done by the government.

The Supreme Court on January 11 had stayed the implementation of the three laws till further orders and appointed a four-member panel to resolve the impasse.

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 laws.

Bhartiya Kisan Union president Bhupinder Singh Mann had on Thursday recused himself from the committee appointed by the apex court.

Shetkari Sanghatana (Maharashtra) president Anil Ghanwat, International Food Policy Research Institute’s Pramod Kumar Joshi and agriculture economist Ashok Gulati are the other three members on the panel.

On January 8, the eighth round of meeting remained inconclusive as the Centre ruled out repealing the three contentious laws claiming nationwide support for the reforms. However, farmer leaders had said that they were ready to fight till death and their ‘ghar waapsi’ would happen only after ‘law waapsi’.

In the sixth round held on December 30 last year, some common ground was reached on two demands — decriminalisation of stubble-burning and continuation of power subsidies. The government has maintained that these apprehensions are misplaced and has ruled out a repeal of the laws.

(With inputs from PTI)