New Delhi: Farmer unions have formally rejected the Modi government’s draft proposal promising amendments to the three farm laws, and in a written reply to the Centre, have reiterated their demand for total repeal of the laws.
The written reply comes a week after the farmers had announced in a press conference that they have rejected the laws. The government had on 9 December sent a proposal to the farmers after a meeting between Home Minister Amit Shah and 13 farmer leaders on 8 December.
“We have given a written reply to the government last evening saying ‘your written proposals contain the same amendments that you had suggested in the meetings’,” Jagjit Singh Dalewal, president, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur), told ThePrint.
“Farmer unions considered these proposals but decided to reject them as they don’t mention anything new and neither do they include repeal of the three laws.”
At a press conference Tuesday evening, farmer leaders had said they would send a one-line written reply to the government rejecting the proposal. “We have already rejected the proposal but we will send a written reply as well if they want,” Dalewal had said at the press conference.
On 11 December, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had said that despite the government sending a written proposal to the farmers, there was no response from the farmers. “Our proposal is with them. They discussed it but we have not received any reply from them. We came to know through the media that they have rejected the proposal,” Tomar had said.
Farmers stick to repeal demand
While the government has reiterated that it is ready for talks, farmers say there is no point in holding them unless the laws are repealed.
“Our demand is that the farm laws be repealed. Unless that happens there’s no point in talks,” Balbir Singh Rajewal, the BKU (Rajewal) president, told ThePrint.
“We went for several rounds of talks with the government but things didn’t move forward. So we will continue our protest and if the government is willing to repeal the laws, we will resume talks.”
Thousands of farmers have been camping at Delhi’s borders for over two weeks in protest against the three farm laws. The stalemate continues despite five rounds of talks between the government and farmers.
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