Farmer unions seek to hold next round of talks on December 29
Farmer unions have sought to hold the next round of talks, in a bid to break the deadlock with the government over the new Agri reforms, on December 29. The farmers, who have been protesting in biting cold for several days, have proposed the Centre for a meeting at 11 am on Tuesday.
"We propose to hold another round of talks with the Centre at 11 am on 29th December," Yogendra Yadav of the Swaraj India said at a press conference on Saturday.
The farmer unions outlined four major issues which, they said, should be discussed during the talks with the government next week. The agenda proposed by the protesting unions includes modalities to repeal the farm laws, legal guarantee for MSP (Minimum Support Price), amendments to be made and notified in the Commission for the Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance, 2020 to exclude farmers from its penal provisions.
The farmer unions also demanded that changes in the draft Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 to protect the interests of farmers should also be part of the agenda for the next round of dialogue.
The unions decided to intensify their agitation as they gave a call to hold a tractor march from Singhu Border and Tikri Border to the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) highway on December 30. They also asked people from Delhi and other parts of the country to join them at the protest sites for New Year celebrations.
Darshan Pal, the president of Krantikari Kisan Union, said that toll plazas in Punjab and Haryana will remain permanently open. "On 30th December we will organize a tractor march from Singhu border," he said.
On Thursday, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Vivek Aggarwal wrote to the protesting unions and invited them for fresh talks. He also made it clear that it would not be "logical" to include in the agenda any new demand related to the MSP, which is out of the purview of the three new farm laws.
On Wednesday, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 unions protesting at three Delhi border points --- Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur -- for the last 28 days, had asked the government to not repeat the proposal of "meaningless" amendments that they have already rejected but to come up with a "concrete offer" in writing for the resumption of talks.
While the government has presented the three farm laws as major reforms aimed at helping farmers, protesting unions have maintained these acts will leave them at the mercy of big corporates by weakening the mandi and MSP systems.
READ MORE: 'Come forward, discuss': Amit Shah's direct appeal to protesting farmers
