The second round of talks between the government and the leaders of the farmers' unions, too, failed to make any breakthrough on Thursday as the union leaders stuck to their demand for the repeal of new farm laws. The next round of meeting is likely to be held on December 5.
The farmers' representatives were so determined in their demands that they even refused the lunch, tea and water offered to them during the almost eight-hour-long meeting at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the government was talking to farmers with an open mind and that the next meeting will be held on Saturday at 2 pm.
“Government has no ego, it was discussing with farmers with an open mind,” he said while talking to media after the meeting.
Tomar said the government is ready to look into farmers' concern regarding weakening of mandis due to new laws and added that it will consider ensuring level-playing field for APMC (Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee) mandis and private mandis that will come up under new laws.
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"The government is also ready to make a provision for registration of traders operating outside APMC mandis under new laws," he said.
The minister also said that the government was open for widening the scope and jurisdiction of dispute resolution beyond the SDM level.
Besides Tomar, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, were also present at the meeting.
During the meeting, the government also assured the group of nearly 40 farmer leaders that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) will not be changed during the implementation of the new farm laws.
The farmer leaders, however, flagged several loopholes and deficiencies in the laws and suggested that the government call a special session of the Parliament and abolish these laws.
Some of the union leaders, who came out of the meeting venue shouting slogans, said the talks remained deadlocked and threatened to boycott any further meetings.
All India Kishan Sangharsh Coordination Committee general secretary Hannan Mollah said the main demand of the unions remains the repeal of the three Acts and the government also listened to the 8-10 specific deficiencies pointed out by the farmer leaders.
Thousands of farmers have been camping at the Singhu and Tikri borders of the national capital for the last eight days as part of their protest against the laws.
On December 1, talks between both the sides ended in a stalemate after farmers' groups rejected the government's suggestion of a new committee to look into issues raised by the protesting farmers.
The government had rejected the demand for repealing the laws and asked the farmers' bodies to identify specific issues related to the newly enacted Acts and submit those by December 2 for consideration and discussion on Thursday.
Enacted in September, the laws have been presented by the government as major reforms in the agriculture sector by removing middlemen and allowing farmers to sell anywhere in the country.
However, the protesting farmers have been worried that the new laws will eliminate the safety cushion of an MSP and procurement system, while rendering ineffective the mandi system that ensures earnings for various stakeholders in the farm sector.
With inputs from PTI
