Describing the decision of the farm unions to return to the negotiating table as a "good step," Union Minister of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday expressed hope that through negotiations a solution will be sought to the stalemate over the new farm laws.
Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh reaffirmed that the Centre has no intention of removing the scheme of minimum support prices (MSP) and that no 'ma ka lal (no one)' would take the land away from the farmers.
Tomar said he hopes that farmers will recognize the problem and the reality of the law; there will be talks and a solution will be found. Asked about the plan by the farm unions to hold the next round of talks on December 29, Tomar said, that Talks will be held.
A letter was written by them; it is a positive move. We're happy for talks already; we're going to address the dilemma by negotiations,' he added.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the umbrella body of 40 farm organizations, wrote to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare of the Union on Saturday to announce the resumption of talks.
It also introduced a four-point agenda for the negotiations, which included the modalities to be followed to revoke the three Central Farm Acts; the mechanisms suggested by the National Farmers' Commission to make the remunerative MSP a legally guaranteed right for all farmers and all agricultural commodities; amendments to be made and notified in the Air Quality Management Commission for the National Capital Region and Neighboring Areas Ordinance in the year 2020 to exclude farmers from their penal provisions; and changes to be made in the Energy Amendment Bill 2020 to protect farmers' interests.
