Delhi Chalo protest: Farmers, Centre to meet for fresh round of talks today
Thursday's talks fell through after the farmers' representatives made a 39-point presentation on the inadequacies of the contentious new farm laws.
FollowNew Delhi: The government and farmers will again hold talks today to resolve the deadlock over the controversial farm laws as the protests across the country intensify amid growing support.
Thousands of protesters camping around Delhi-borders are insistent on the laws being repealed, and two rounds of talks this week have fallen through despite repeated assurances from the government on the minimum support price for the agricultural produce.
This is the biggest farmers' protest in years and numbers continue to swell at Delhi's borders amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has affected over 95 lakh people across India.
Having announced its intention to address key concerns of farmers such as levelling the playing field between APMC mandis and private markets, registration of traders, and allowing farmers’ recourse to civil courts for dispute resolution, the Central government Friday internally discussed options on how to incorporate these changes.
Today's meeting - the third in a week - will take place at 2 pm at Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan. Thursday's talks fell through after the farmers' representatives made a 39-point presentation on the inadequacies of the contentious new farm laws.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has defended the new laws and said they only give an option to farmers to sell to private buyers. After a seven-hour long meeting on Thursday, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said "the government has no ego", suggesting it is open to expand the discussion.
Farmers say the laws will deprive them of the minimum prices fixed by the government and leave them at the mercy of corporates.
