Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 8: In what the farmers’ unions had said the “last chance” for the centre to break the impasse, the eighth round of talks too ended on Friday inconclusively without moving an inch forward.
With both the sides continuing to stick to their respective stands, the farmers unions for the repeal of the three contentious farm acts and the centre on “no repeal and only clause-wise discussions,” the observers see little chance of a solution even in the next round of talks scheduled on January 15.
Even though before the start of the eighth round of talks at the Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi, the union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar had told media persons that he was “hopeful” of a solution to the impasse on Friday, the government refused to concede any ground to its stand of “no repeal,” while the farmers too hanged on to their stand that they would withdraw the agitation and return home from the Delhi borders only if the laws were repealed. “Ghar wapasi only if the government agrees for law wapasi,” they maintained.
“I am hopeful that talks will be held in a positive atmosphere and a solution will be found. During discussions, each side has to take steps to reach a solution,” Tomar told journalists before the negotiations began. As in the last seen rounds, Tomar was leading discussions from the government’s side, along with Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who hails from Punjab.
Ruling out a complete roll back, the centre asserted that the laws had been welcomed by a large section of farmers in other states across the country, and asked the unions to think about the interests of the entire country.
At one stage, the discussions on Friday reached such an impasse that there had been no exchanges between the two sides for over an hour as the farmer leaders decided to observe silence while holding out papers with slogans including ‘Jeetenge ya Marenge’ (We will either win or die) without uttering a word or to reply to the issues raised by the central ministers. The union leaders said they would speak only if the government was ready to discuss repeal of the laws.
Farmer unions have said the union agriculture minister had flatly refused to repeal the three contentious farm laws, even as farmers have been insistent that it is one of their core demands. The members of delegation currently in talks with the centre said they have conveyed to the government that the demand to repeal laws is non-negotiable and the central government had no right to legislate on the agriculture sector.
“Ideally, the Centre should not interfere in agriculture matters as various Supreme Court orders have declared farming as a state subject. It seems you (the government) do not want to resolve the issue as talks have been happening for so many days. In that case, please give us a clear answer and we will go. Why to waste everyone’s time,” another farmer leader said at the meeting.
All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) member Kavitha Kuruganti, who was also present in the meeting, said the government has told unions that” it can not and will not repeal these laws.”
Another farmer leader, Rakesh Tikait of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, said the farmers were willing to converse with the government 700 times if they like, but their demands will not change. The farmer unions have already held eight rounds of negotiations.
A day before the eighth round of talks, Tomar had on Thursday met the religious leader Baba Lakha Singh, one of the heads of the Nanaksar Sikh sect based in Punjab. Singh, who has been organising langar at the protest sites, said he wished to mediate between the government and protesting farmers. But the farm leaders said the religious leader was not speaking for the agitating farmers.