“NOT SERIOUS ABOUT OUR DEMANDS…”: FARMERS TURN DOWN INVITATION TO TALKS

Thu 24 December 2020:

The government should put repeal of the laws on the agenda for fresh dialogue,” Shiv Kumar Kakka, a senior farmer leader says

New Delhi: Farmers protesting the agriculture laws have turned down an invitation to resume talks and said they are uninterested in returning to the negotiating table unless the centre is willing to consider the repeal of the three controversial pieces of legislation.

Leaders representing the 40 farmers’ unions camped around Delhi over the past month said their demands – which include a legal guarantee for MSP (minimum support price) – could not be considered individually. The unions, which have organised themselves under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, are expected to meet on Friday and frame a formal response to the centre.

“The government is not serious about our demands… they are writing letters every day. The new letter is nothing but propaganda against us… to give the impression that we are not interested in talks. The government should put repeal of the laws on the agenda for fresh dialogue,” Shiv Kumar Kakka, a senior farmer leader, was quoted by news agency PTI.

Mr Kakka said legal guarantees of MSP was a key demand for the farmers, who fear that this safety net will be scrapped once the new laws are put into practice. The centre has offered only written assurances that procurement at MSP will continue, leaving the farmers remain unconvinced.

Earlier this week the Joint Secretary in the Agriculture Ministry wrote to the protesting farmers and invited them for a sixth round of talks. He also said it would not be “logical” to include any new demands related to MSP; such demands, the letter said, were out of the purview of the farm laws.

“I again request you… the government has been discussing all issues with an open heart and good intention to end the protest and will continue to do so… Kindly suggest a date and time (for the next round of talks),” the letter to the farmers read.

Five rounds of talks have been held so far to resolve the impasse between the two sides. However, neither side is willing to budge at this point. The farmers want the laws scrapped and the centre is only open to amending more problematic sections.