Centre offers to freeze farm laws

Farmer leaders to respond to the offer on Friday after their internal consultations

The Centre on Wednesday proposed to suspend the three contentious farm laws for one or one-and-ahalf years and set up a joint committee to discuss the laws to end the stalemate, but the farmers leaders did not immediately accept the proposal and said they will respond only after they hold internal consultations, possibly on Thursday. The two sides will meet again on Friday for the eleventh round of negotiations.

The government made this offer during the tenth round of talks with the representatives of 41 farmers’ unions at Vigyan Bhavan here. After the meeting, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said: “During the discussions, we said the government was ready to put on hold the farm laws for one year or one and a half years. I am happy the farmers’ unions have taken this very seriously and said they would consider it tomorrow (Thursday) and convey their decision on January 22.”

Ahead of the meeting which lasted for over five hours, Mr Tomar along with commerce minister Piyush Goyal met Union home minister Amit Shah.

Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently called a meeting of top agriculture ministry officials and advised them to put the three laws on hold till the matter was sorted out between the two sides.

The Supreme Court has already put on hold till further orders all the three farm laws. While staying the three farm laws, the Supreme Court appointed a four-member panel to talk to farmers to end the stalemate. But the farmers union objected to the make-up of the panel.