New Delhi: The sixth round of talks between the Modi government and the farmer unions saw some movement Wednesday with the Centre agreeing to two of the four demands raised by the unions.
While the government has refused to repeal the three farm laws, it has agreed to exclude farmers from the penal provisions of the Commission for the Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance 2020. It has also agreed to not pursue the draft Electricity Amendment Bill 2020.
The next round of talks has been scheduled for 4 January.
The five-hour long meeting Wednesday was held between representatives of 40 farmer unions and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and MoS Commerce and Industry Som Prakash.
“The meeting was held in a very positive environment,” Jagmohan Singh Patiala, general secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakonda) told ThePrint. “The government has agreed to two of our four demands and we are hopeful that in the next meeting modalities of the repeal of the three laws will be discussed.”
“There’s still a deadlock over the three farm laws being scrapped. We also couldn’t reach a consensus with them on MSP,” Darshan Pal, president, Krantikari Kisan Union, told ANI.
Farmer unions had agreed to return to the negotiating table on 26 December after PM Narendra Modi issued a direct appeal to them on 25 December.
Also read: Why the farmers’ protest is led by Sikhs of Punjab
Two of four demands met
On the day they agreed, however, the farmers sent a letter to the government in which the Samkyukt Kisan Morcha — the umbrella organisation of over 40 farmer unions coordinating the protests — set four conditions. These include modalities to repeal the three laws, ensure law on minimum support pricing (MSP), no penalty for stubble burning under the “Commission for the Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance 2020” and amendments to the Electricity Bill 2020 to protect farmers rights.
“First issue was an ordinance related to the environment. Unions were apprehensive about farmers being included for stubble burning. Both sides agreed to farmers’ exclusion,” Tomar had told ANI after the meeting.
“Farmers also feel that if reform is introduced in the Electricity Act, they’ll suffer loss. Unions wanted electricity subsidies given to farmers by states for irrigation to continue. Consensus was reached on this issue as well.”
This is the first time that any headway has been made between the farmers and the central government. Before Wednesday, five rounds of talks had remained inconclusive.
The last round of talks was held on 5 December after which the stalemate continued with the farmers unwilling to relent on their demand to repeal the three laws, while the government only agreed to make amendments.
Thousands of farmers have been protesting against the three farm laws for over a month at Delhi’s borders.
Also read: The problem Rahul Gandhi has created for Amarinder Singh in Punjab by backing farmer protests
Not a single self certified environmentalist has objected to farmers’ demand on these two issues – stubble burning and electricity subsidy. What hypocrisy! And the next time The Print’s politician of the decade, Shri Arvind Kejriwal raises the issue of pollution in Delhi, will The Print have the intellectual honesty to remind him of his position here?