Team News Riveting
New Delhi, January 20
The union government on Wednesday offered to amend the three contentious farm laws at the 10th round of talks with protesting unions but farmer leaders stuck to their demand for a complete repeal of the Acts and alleged that the Centre was avoiding discussion on a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).
The farmers want the government to give in writing that it would continue procuring yields from the farmers of Punjab and Haryana at the MSP. Under the One Nation, One Market theory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tried to bring uniformity in the earning of farmers across the length and breath of the country.
The stalemate continued on the MSP front with the 10th round of talks between the farmers’ unions and the central government predictably ending on Wednesday without moving an inch forward except taking a decision to meet again on Friday. The only plus point at Wednesday’s talks, according to the farmers’ leaders, was that the government showed willingness to suspend the implementation of the contentious farm laws for one and half years.
But the offer was not acceptable to the farmers who kept harping on total roll back of the acts and no temporary suspension.
“The government has said it is ready to suspend the laws for one and half a year. In reply, farmers said there is no point in suspending the laws and made it clear that we want the repeal of the laws,” a farmer leader told media persons after the 10th round of talks again ended in a deadlock. The next round of meetings would be held on Friday.
The agitating farmers are also adamant to march out the tractor rally on January 26 and have several rounds of discussion with the top police officials of the states concerned to finalise the route.
