Farmers unions reject government proposals to amend three farm laws

The Krantikari Kisan Union has written a letter to the Centre wherein it has asked not to engage with other farmers' organisations. Its president Darshan Pal said that the union has already rejected the government's proposals sent on December 5 to amend the farm laws.

Pal's letter to Agriculture Ministry secretary Vivek Agarwal also said that the government should stop 'discrediting the farmers’ protests and talk to all farmer groups with equal importance'.

Explaining why the farmers have rejected the Centre's proposals, he said that the government’s written proposal was a compilation of exactly what was conveyed to them in the previous rounds of talks verbally.

"We have already conveyed our concerns at various rounds of talks already, hence we didn’t respond in writing to your proposal," he wrote.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, are currently staying put at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in protest against the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. They have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations. However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture. The government argues that the three farm laws will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.