Two days after the farmers' unions expressed that they are ready to hold talks with the government over the three agricultural laws, the government, while accepting their proposal, has fixed December 30 to hold fresh talks. In a letter signed by the Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, the government said that the meeting between the farmer leaders and the council of ministers would take place at Vigyan Bhawan on December 30 at 2 pm.
Taking a note of farmers' offer of resuming talks, Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Aggarwal said, "The government is also committed to finding a logical solution on all relevant issues with a clear intention and an open mind."
This would be the sixth round of talks between the farmers and the government. The earlier rounds of talks remained inconclusive.
Farmers unions on Saturday had written to the Agriculture Ministry and proposed that the talks be held on December 29 adding that repealing the three laws should be on top of the agenda.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that lies have been spread amongst the farmers with proper planning against the farm laws but assured that it won't last long and the protesting farmers will realise the truth soon. The minister reiterated he remains hopeful to find an early solution to end the deadlock.
"Soon, some way out will emerge and we will reach towards the solution. Everyone knows that the wall of lies is never strong. Truth is truth. There is going to be a time when people will start accepting the truth," Tomar said addressing a virtual event organised by Confederation of NGOs of Rural India (CNRI).
Talking of tomorrow's meeting, a senior official of the agriculture ministry said in the meeting will the laws related to all three new agrarian reforms, the existing system of MSP, Central Electricity Bill and the Commission Ordinance brought for pollution will be discussed.
The agriculture minister said he’s constantly engaging with farmers unions and trying to remove their “misconceptions” on the farm laws adding that benefits of these new laws have started reaching farmers while many remain positive about these legislations, some are confused.
"I am hopeful we will be successful in clearing their concerns," he noted.
Tomar further said the government is always ready for talks because in a democratic setup dialogue is the only way to resolve any issue. "We are stressing on this," he added.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting against the farm laws for over a month now. They have camped at Delhi borders seeking repeal of the three farm laws.