Farmers can add or remove points to/from Govt proposal, stresses Agriculture Minister
In a bid to break the deadlock with protesting farmers, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday invited them for talks saying any agitation could be resolved only through dialogue. He urged them to fix a date and time for the next round of talks.
Tomar said farmers should tell them what they want to add or remove from the proposal given by the Government.
“I’m hopeful that farmers’ unions will discuss our request. Whatever they want to add & subtract from the Government’s proposal, they should tell us. We’re ready for a discussion at the time & date of their convenience. I’m hopeful of a solution,” Tomar said while talking to reporters.
Stressing that a solution can be reached only through dialogue, Tomar said, “History is witness to this fact. How old and strong the protest is, the end and the solution to a protest are reached through dialogue only.”
Farmers’ unions should discuss the Government’s draft proposal and inform them if they want to add or delete anything, he added.
The Minister said there were recommendations for reforms in the farm sector in the past also by experts, unions and State Chief Ministers, but the previous Government might have faced difficulties in converting the recommendations into laws. Tomar further said the Government will continue with reforms in the farm sector as they are still due in many areas.
The Union Agriculture Minister was referring to a proposal sent by the Centre to the farmers’ unions on Sunday, in which it offered to hold the sixth round of talks at a date and time of the unions’ choosing.
He added, “I would also like to thank banks, as they brought more than 1 crore farmers under Kisan Credit Card cover during the pandemic and gave farmers Rs 1 lakh crore in last 8 months. We’ve undertaken some reforms and will bring more in future.”
Total five rounds of talks, including one each on December 1, 3 and 5, have failed to break the deadlock between the two sides. While the Centre is firm that the laws won’t be scrapped and has instead proposed amendments, the unions are adamant on a total repeal. The Government has worked the back channels to bring farmer groups back to the negotiating table.
The Minister also received six boxes of letters with signatures of 3,13,363 lakh farmers from 20 States, including Punjab through NGO CNRI in support of the farm laws. Of these, 12,895 farmers from Punjab have signed in favour of the laws, while 1.27 lakh such farmers are from Haryana. Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Chaudhary and Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Aggarwal were also present in the meet.
Thursday, 24 December 2020 | PNS | New Delhi
