The ninth round of discussions between the government and protesting farmer unions held days after the Supreme Court had put a stay on the farm laws, ended without any major conclusion on Friday. The meeting which continued for over five hours failed to break the deadlock over the three farm laws.
Both the sides will now meet again on January 19.
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, presided over the meeting with the representatives of around 40 farmer unions which was held at the Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi.
"The government is adamant it won't repeal the laws. We have suggested that it remove the changes made to the Essential Commodities Act instead of scrapping it altogether. But the Agriculture Minister has not said anything to this," All-India Kisan Sabha (Punjab) leader Balkaran Singh Brar told a news agency.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar after the meeting said that the Centre is willing to discuss all issues with the farmers with an open mind.
"The Centre welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court. We will present our views before the committee. The government is ready to remove all doubts that the farmers have concerning the three farm laws. We are hopeful of a resolution soon. The government is concerned about the farmers protesting in this harsh winter," Tomar said.
"Our demands for repealing the three farm laws and MSP guarantee remain. We will not go to the Committee constituted by the Supreme Court. We'll talk to the Central Government only," Rakesh Tikait, BKU spokesperson, told reporters after the meeting.
He added, "The government needs to devise a plan to scrap the three laws and give legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP).”
The government at today's meeting told farmers that they are ready to make amendments in the laws and now that the Supreme Court has stayed the implementation of the laws, the government is ready to discuss the contentious points, present in the laws, which the farmers have rejected.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court had held-off the implementation of the three farm laws and named a four-member panel to negotiate between the farmers and the government.
Bhartiya Kisan Union president Bhupinder Singh Mann who was one amongst the members 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 committee.
The Centre has been claiming that the agricultural reforms have got support from across the country and will bring benefits to the farming sector.
However, after the eighth round of talks, farmer leaders had said that they were ready to fight till death and their 'ghar waapsi' would happen only after 'law was' and also warned of a tractor march during the Republic Day parade.
However, Mr Tikait has said farmers would call off the parade if the Supreme Court orders.
Though talks till now have remained inconclusive, 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.
Also Read: Farmers & Centre to hold 9th round of talks over farm laws, says don’t expect much
Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at several Delhi border points, demanding a complete repeal of the three farm laws and legal guarantee of minimum support price for their crops. They believe the laws will do away with the mandi system and leave them at a mercy of the corporates.
Enacted in September last year, the three laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and farmers will be able to sell their produce anywhere in the country.