Ninth round of Govt-Farmers talks remain inconclusive, next meeting on January 19

The ninth round of talks between the Union government and the farmers, agitating against the three recent farm laws, ended inconclusively on Friday. The next round of meetings will be held on January 19.

For close to two months, thousands of farmers have been camping at various Delhi borders, demanding a complete repeal of the farm laws and a legal guarantee for a minimum support price (MSP) crop procurement system. While the farmers have remained adamant on their demands, the government has held its ground, leading to nine rounds of talks without a conclusion.

The latest, ninth, round of talks between the government officials and the farmers was held on Friday at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi.

During the meeting, the farmer unions continued to press for the repeal of the farm laws, sources told India Today TV. They also registered their protest against cases against farmers in Karnal following the incident before Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattars rally, they said.

The farmers also raised concern regarding the alleged police crackdown against those directly or indirectly supporting farmers' protest, the sources said.

"The government is bent on harassing the people involved in the movement, instead of listening



to the demand of the farmers. The social workers who are sending buses to Delhi or providing financial help to the martyred farmers are being harassed repeatedly in the name of the investigation by the NIA - National Investigation Agency. We oppose this mental abuse and we warn the central government to create a good environment for the discussions with farmers," Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the united front of 40 farm unions, said in a statement after the meeting.

According to sources, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the farmers that while the government has accepted most of their demands, it is the farmers who are stuck and are not moving ahead to break the deadlock between the two over farm laws.

Narendra Singh Tomar said, "I did not want to say it but the farmers have been telling media persons that we are firm on farm laws but we have accepted most of your demands but the farmers are stuck on their stand. Farmers are not even taking a step forward."

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Tomar said that the talks were inconclusive but cordial. "We hope discussions would continue. The government offered that the farmers can form an informal group among themselves and submit a proposal on what they want," he said.