The farmers’ unions on Monday, 21 December, said that they are ready to have a discussion with the government regarding the farm laws, as long as the government is offering ‘'concrete solution'.
The farmers’ union further claimed that the centre in its latest letter had said nothing new, and has sought a date for the next round of talks, reported PTI.
Rakesh Tikait, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader, said that the government in its letter have mentioned it wants to discuss the new agricultural laws.
“On this issue (government's proposal), we did not talk to them earlier. We are currently discussing how to respond to the government letter,” Tikait told news agency PTI.
The central government on Sunday, 20 December, urged the agitating farmer unions to set a suitable date for the next round of talks and specify their remaining concerns over the agriculture laws.
The Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Vivek Aggarwal wrote a letter to 40 union leaders stating, “I request those previously invited protesting union leaders to provide details of their remaining concerns and doubts and suggest a date as per convenience for next round of talks,” The Economic Times reported.
This will be the sixth round of talks between the farmer unions and the central administration after the first five rounds proved to be inconclusive.
The next meeting for resolving the issue is scheduled to be held in Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi so that the ongoing protests end at the earliest, Aggarwal added.
He also said that in a draft proposal, the government on 9 December had made amendments on seven issues within the farm laws, one of them being a written assurance regarding the protection of the minimum support price (MSP).
However, the unions, who have been rallying for the complete revocation of the laws, rejected the proposal through an email sent by Krantikari Kisan Union state president Darshan Pal on 16 December, NDTV reported.
Thousands of farmers from states around the national capital and elsewhere have been expressing their discontent with the farm laws enacted by the Modi government in September 2020.
(With inputs from PTI, NDTV and The Economic Times)
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