By: Shree1news, 05 DEC 2020
About 40-odd farmers organisations, which met here on Friday to hammer out a joint strategy ahead of the
Saturday’s fifth round of talks with the government over the three controversial agriculture Acts, resolved that they received’t budge from their said place. The farmer organisations stated that nothing less than repeal of those legal guidelines can be acceptable to them.
This elevated the probabilities of the deadlock continuing for some time, except the government makes the key concession of both making MSP a statutory proper of farmers or abrogating the new items of legislation.
The farmers also called for Bharat Bandh on December 8 to press their case, a transfer that displayed their stomach for a protracted stand-off with the government, if want be. The government had, on Thursday, agreed to make a clutch of significant amendments to the Acts, to address the farmers’ issues.
The hard-line stand taken by farmers organisations on Friday was the results of the young cadres being insistent on not agreeing to something less than repeal of the legal guidelines, sources stated. Agriculture ministry officers, who have been current at Thursday’s seven-hour meeting with farmer unions, are still hopeful of finding an amicable solution. “We are hopeful that farmers will accept the offers of the government on Saturday and agree to end the protest,” an official told FE.
Parleys continued throughout the day amongst farmer leaders, first amongst 30 organisations of Punjab and later amongst organisations of all of the states. Talking after the meeting, Yudhveer Singh, general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), stated: “Earlier the government was portraying the protest as Punjab-centric. So, we have decided to call for Bharat Bandh. We also appeal all farmers to join the protest in Delhi.”
Another farmer leader Hanan Mollah, a former MP, claimed that many more organisations are joining the motion everyday and holding protest in their own districts throughout the nation.
However, there are senior farmer leaders who want the method of dialogue to proceed. “Talks will continue as this is the only way to resolve issues. The government should also show maturity,” stated Shiv Kumar Sharma, president of Rashtriya Kisan Mahashangha.
Signalling its willingness to concede some ground to resolve the stand-off with agitating farmers from Punjab and Haryana over the three recently enacted agriculture laws, the Centre provided to make adjustments in one of many farm Acts with the intention to make registration obligatory for buy of farm produce from outside the APMC mandis. Whereas that is meant to supply the government an oversight over such purchases, it’s believed that farmers can also be given the ability to move courts for dispute resolution.
Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar had stated: “We have assured them (farmer groups) that the APMC mandis would not be closed down; slightly the government would work to strengthen APMC mandis. We can even think about offering a degree taking part in area on market charges for trading inside and outdoors mandis. One other demand was to permit farmers to move courts for dispute resolution which we’ll think about too.”
Presently, anybody with PAN cards can purchase farm items outside the APMC networks and SDM/district collector is the adjudicating authority over disputes. In the meantime, hundreds of students, womens’ rights leaders, industrial workers and intellectuals of Delhi rallied at Jantar Mantar on Friday to protest against the “perspective” of the government on the farmers’ calls for, stated All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC).
There is no house absolutely for any discussion on MSP as farmers interest will be safeguarded only when MSP is given on the Swaminathan formula of 1.5 times of C2 value and there’s assured environment of purchase of crops from all farmers, it stated in an announcement.
Source: A-N