Farmers reject govt’s offer on panel, talks deadlocked
Next round of talks tomorrow; govt asks protesters to identify specific issues about agri laws and submit them today
NEW DELHI: Farmers protesting against a set of laws they say will hurt their incomes agreed, at a meeting led by three Union ministers on Tuesday, to continue discussions with the government later this week, but rejected a proposal from the Centre for a five-member committee of officials, economists and farmers’ representatives to hold future negotiations.
Farm union leaders from 35 organisations based in Punjab and Haryana met agriculture minister Narendra Tomar, railways, food and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal and minister of state for commerce Som Prakash for over three hours at the capital’s Vigyan Bhawan, as protests by thousands of farmers on Delhi’s borders entered the sixth day. The government and the farm leaders agreed to meet again on December 3 to for discussions, the government said in a statement.
Behind the scenes, the talks were facilitated by several rounds of phone conversations between Union home minister Amit Shah and key farm union leaders over the course of the past two days, which led to the government advancing the date of the talks, initially scheduled for December 3.
“We were initially reluctant for another round of talks. Home minister Amit Shah talked to us several times by telephone. We agreed on the ground that the government should rethink the three farm laws,” said Jagmohan Singh, a leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) and working committee member of the All-India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), the platform spearheading the agitation. The farmers did not agree to the government’s proposal for a committee to carry out future talks because “all 35 farmers’ leaders will have to be present in all future discussions”, said Balbir Singh Rajewal, a farm leader who leads the Rajewal faction of the BKU.
“During the deliberations, the Union agriculture and farmers welfare minister proposed to constitute an expert committee to put forth the issues of farmers so as to resolve them with mutual consent but the representative of the farmers’ union suggested that all the representatives will attend further round of discussions with the government to resolve the matter amicably,” an official statement at the end of the talks said.
The agriculture minister suggested that farm leaders identify specific issues related to the three farm reform laws and share these with the government on Wednesday for consideration. “These issues will be discussed during the fourth round of meeting to be held on December 3,” said an official, requesting anonymity.
As the Central government has invited representatives of all the farmer organisations from Punjab for talks, some of them will play a crucial role in the talks. Here are some of the key negotiators:
BALBIR SINGH RAJEWAL (78)
Head of a faction of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), Rajewal is the brain behind the planning of the farmer unions. The BKU (Rajewal) has sizeable presence in the central Punjab districts. During the ongoing protests, all communications with the Centre is being made in consultation with him. He takes an active part in the protests and is currently at the Singhu border in Delhi.
DARSHAN PAL (68)
A qualified anesthesiologist, Pal left his job as a doctor in the state health department in 2003. The Krantikari Kisan Union he heads may not have large number of farmer members, but he has a lot of say in the ongoing protests. He can bring the national farmer leaders on a common platform. His union has following in Patiala, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Mansa, Fazilka and Faridkot districts.
He heads the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) that has a sizeable following in Malwa besides some Majha districts. It is the largest farmer union in Punjab. Ugrahan served in the army and then worked as a teacher. When the farm laws were enacted, his outfit laid siege outside former CM Parkash Singh Badal’s residence, forcing Harsimrat Badal to quit the Union cabinet.
JAGMOHAN SINGH PATIALA (60)
He is general secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda) which is active in the Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala and Bathinda districts. A post-graduate in political science and a trained acupuncturist, he is the face of the outfit in Malwa. He went to jail at the age of 18 during the Moga agitation in the 1970s. Though he comes from a family having affiliation with the Congress, he chose to be a Leftist.
Head of BKU (Charuni), he unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly polls as an independent. He joined the Aam Aadmi Party in 2014 but was refused ticket due to his conviction in an attempt to murder case. He has a say among Punjabi farmers in Haryana. He led farmers in breaking through barricades put up by Haryana Police and a case was registered against him.