The seventh round of talks between 40 leaders of farmers’ unions and the Center on the new agricultural laws failed yet again. Leaders of peasant unions mainly insisted on the repeal of the three newly introduced farm laws, thereby ending the negotiations, as the Centre is adamant against repealing the laws. Farmer unions insist that contract farming allows corporates to store large quantities of goods and that even minimum support price has not been legalized, and hence are demanding the withdrawal of the new farm laws. As the negotiations ended incompletely with the Union Ministers reluctant to the demands made by the farmers, it has been decided that another round of talks would be held on January 8th, 2021.
Is this a delay tactic by Centre?
Farmers’ union leaders are angry that the Center is delaying the repeal of laws when nearly three lakh farmers are shivering on the roads of Delhi. They are outraged over four farmers losing their lives due to the cold weather, and even as the cold wave is intensifying, the Center was not agreeing to repeal the laws. The farm union leaders have made it clear that the Center is willing to amend the new laws, which is not acceptable to them, adding that they would not leave Delhi until the new laws were repealed.
