No conditions for December 3 talks, says Centre
OFFICIALS SAY THE CENTRE’S OFFER STANDS AND THEY ARE PREPARING PRESENTATIONS AFRESH ON THE 3 CONTENTIOUS FARM LAWS
NEW DELHI : The Union government has not set any conditions for talks with farmers and its invitation for the next round of discussions on December 3 stands, a senior official with knowledge of the matter said on Monday, as home minister Amit Shah and agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar met twice in a span of 24 hours to discuss their course of action.
Thousands of farmers, who are marching from various states toward the national capital to protest against three new farm laws they say will hurt their interests, have hardened their stand. They threatened to block entry points to New Delhi and demanded a repeal of the laws. A decision on participating in the next round of talks on December 3 would be conveyed soon, they said.
“There are no terms and conditions set by the government for the talks. Our invitation for the next round of talks on December 3 stands. The government is looking forward to it,” the official cited above said, requesting anonymity.
The agriculture ministry is going ahead with preparations for the talks, set to be held at the capital’s Vigyan Bhawan. The ministry has prepared a fresh set of presentations and videos on the farm reforms, a second official said.
The government is expected to have a few economists from Niti Aayog, the government’s policy think tank, to join the discussions. “We have not closed our doors for discussions. The talks should be without any condition, sincere and inclusive. We are not interested in going left or right, we are saying ‘repeal these laws’. At least, the government should make clear that it will rethink the laws,” said Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India, one of the leaders spearheading the agitation.
Farmers will convey their position on the December 3 talks after another round of internal discussions, said Darshan Pal of the Krantikari Kisan Union.
On Sunday, farm leaders had rejected an offer from home minister Amit Shah to advance the date of talks scheduled for December 3, saying they would not accept the government’s condition that farmers first move to their allotted protest site in Burari on the capital’s outskirts.
Home secretary Ajay Balla, in a letter addressed to Pal on November 28, had proposed to hold talks with farmers the day after farmers evacuated themselves to the protest site. Farmers said any offer of talks should not be conditional on anything, rejecting the proposal.
The official cited in the first instance said this was not a condition imposed on farmers. “Since farmers were already moving towards the capital, the government suggested that once they moved to the protest site where arrangements were made for their stay, the government could hold talks at an earlier date,” the official cited above said.
Monday was the fifth day of farmers protesting a set of new farm laws, approved by Parliament in September, to allow businesses to freely trade farm produce outside t he so-called government-controlled mandi system, permit private traders to stockpile large quantities of essential commodities for future sales and lay down new rules for contract farming. Farm leaders say the new changes will leave them at the mercy of private buyers and vulnerable to exploitation.