The eighth round of meeting between farmers and Centre today. (PTI)2020 Indian Farmers Protest News Update: The eighth round of talks between farmers and Centre remained inconclusive with both sides sticking to their stated positions. After the meeting, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that discussion on the laws was taken up but no decision could be made. “The Government urged that if farmer unions give an option other than repealing, we will consider it. But no option could be presented, so the meeting was concluded and it was decided to hold next meeting on 15th January,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Head of Nanaksar Gurudwara Baba Lakha Singh met Tomar in Delhi. “People are losing lives; children, farmers, elderly men and women are sitting on road. Grief is unbearable. I thought it should be resolved somehow. So I met him (Agriculture Minister) today. Talks were good, we tried to find solution,” Baba Lakha Singh said. He further said that “we will have a new proposal and find out a solution to the matter”. “We will try to resolve it at the earliest. The minister assured me that he is with us in finding a solution,” he said.
The agriculture minister said that Lakha Singh was distressed that farmers were agitating in winter. “He conveyed to us farmers’ view, I presented the Government’s. I urged him to talk to Unions’ leaders. We didn’t approach him, he spoke to us out of his pain for farmers,” Tomar said.
Next round of talks will take place on January 15.
Highlights
Farmers protests: Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar says discussion on the laws was taken up but no decision could be made. He says the Centre urged that if farmer unions give an option other than repealing, it will ll consider it. "But no option could be presented, so the meeting was concluded and it was decided to hold next meeting on 15th January."
Farmers protest: All India Kisan Sabha General Secretary Hannan Mollah, who was present in meeting, says that there was a heated discussion during the talks. "We said we don't want anything other than repeal of laws. We won't go to any Court, this (repeal) will either be done or we will continue to fight. Our parade on 26th January will go on as planned."
Farmers Protest Live Update: The eighth round of talks between farmers and Centre remained inconclusive with both sides sticking to their stated positions. Ahead of the meeting, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said that he was confident that the solution will be found. MoS Agriculture Kailash Choudhary said that a solution will be found when clause-by-clause discussions are held with protesting farmers.
Delhi: Langar is being distributed outside Vigyan Bhawan, where the eighth round of talks between Central Government and farmer leaders is underway over Farm Laws.
The eighth round of talks between protesting farmer unions and three central ministers are underway to break the over-a-month-long deadlock on recent farm laws. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, are holding the talks with the representatives of around 40 farmer unions at the Vigyan Bhawan. On January 4, the seventh round of talks ended inconclusively as the unions stuck to their demand for a complete repeal of three farm laws, while the government wanted to discuss only the "problematic" clauses or other alternatives to end the stalemate. Before that, in the sixth round of talks held on December 30 last year, some common ground was reached on two demands -- decriminalisation of stubble-burning and continuation of power subsidies. (PTI)
Farmers protests: Congress MPs and leaders who are protesting against Centre's three farm laws at Jantar Mantar meet party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at Rahul Gandhi's residence.
Farmers protests: The eighth round of talks between the Central Government and farmer leaders begin at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan today flayed the contentious farm laws passed by the Centre, against which farmers are on the warpath in Delhi, saying it would undermine regulated markets and help the corporates. Khan read in full length the remarks against the farm laws, against which the Kerala Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution on December 31 demanding its immediate withdrawal. The remarks against the farm laws and central agencies were part of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government's policy address during the beginning of the budget session at the state Assembly, and Khan did not omit the portions critical of the Union government's policies and the actions of its probe agencies.Referring to the protest by farmers against the new laws, he said there has been an all-India strike of the workers, which is one of the largest of its kind against the new labour bills. "These agrarian laws will undermine regulated markets, result in eventual demise of minimum support price and tilt the balance of bargaining power definitely in favour of corporate middle men," he Governor said adding that Kerala being a consumer state was also going to be adversely affected by the amendment of Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and the resultant hoarding and profiteering. (PTI)
Farmers protests LIVE NEWS: Ahead of meeting with farmers, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar says that he is hopeful talks will be held in a positive atmosphere and a solution will be found. He says during discussions, each side has to take steps to reach a solution.
Farmers protests: Congress MPs and leaders who are protesting against Centre's three farm laws at Jantar Mantar meet party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at Rahul Gandhi's residence.
Farmers protest: The Minister (Narendra Singh Tomar) yesterday categorically declared that repeal of farm laws not accepted. I don't know what will happen during the discussions today. Anyway, we hope for the best and prepare for the worst, says Hannan Mollah, General Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha
Farmer leaders from Singhu border have left for Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi for the eighth round of talks with the Union Government on farm laws.
Farmers protests: Thousands of farmers yesterday took out tractor marches from protest sites of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders and Haryana's Rewasan as the agitating unions asserted they would not accept the Centre's offer of amendments to the three farm laws. These marches were a "rehearsal" for their proposed January 26 "Kisan parade" to the national capital from different parts of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. The tractor marches started from four different points — Singhu to Tikri Border, Tikri to Kundli, Ghazipur to Palwal and Rewasan to Palwal. The protesting unions claimed the marches were "a grand success".
Punjab BJP leaders Surjit Kumar Jyani and Harjit Singh Grewal met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday. After the meeting, Jyani told reporters that the farmer unions should not be adamant on their demand for repeal of the three farm laws. He also alleged that Left leaders have entered into the movement and do not want the matter to be resolved. Grewal asserted that the government is ready for everything that is in farmers' interest.
Farmers protests LIVE: Ahead of 8th round of meeting with farmers, MoS Agriculture Kailash Choudhary says that a solution will be found when clause-by-clause talks are held with farmers. "The Government of India is ready to make amendments in the laws. We are hopeful of resolution".
Farmers protest: Balvinder Singh Raju, a farmer, says there is no scope of clause-wise talks. "The government should hold a meeting to repeal these laws today itself". Farmers continue to protest for 44 days at Singhu border (Delhi-Haryana) against the Farm Laws.
Farmers protests: Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar yesterday said that the government is ready to consider any proposal other than repeal of three farm laws, the key demand of the protesting farmers. "I cannot say. I cannot say anything right now. In fact, it depends on what issues that will come up for discussion in the meeting," Tomar told reporters.
Farmers protests LIVE: This (eighth) round of talks between farmers and Centre is crucial as the previous meeting on January 4 remained inconclusive with both sides sticking to their positions. There was some breakthrough in the sixth round of talks on December 30 when the Centre conceded to two demands of the protesting farmers related to power subsidy and stubble burning. But the previous rounds of talks had failed to make any headway.