Chennai: The ninth round of talks between farmer unions and the government on Friday remained inconclusive, with a farmer leader terming it as ‘120 per cent failure’.
This has paved the way for the next round of talks to be held on 19 January, a day when the Supreme Court-appointed committee is likely to start work on resolving the issue.
“It was a 120 per cent failure. We suggested that the government remove the changes made to the Essential Commodities Act instead of scrapping it altogether. But the Agriculture Minister has not said anything on this,” said farmer leader Darshan Pal.
Also, leaders of the farmer unions also expressed their skepticism about the Supreme Court-appointed panel’s role.
“Our demands for repealing of the three farm laws and MSP [Minimum Support Price] guarantee remain,” said Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson Rakesh Tait.
“We will not go to the Committee constituted by the Supreme Court. We will talk to Central government only,” he said.
At Friday’s talks, Tomar had asked the farmers why they keep accusing the Centre of being adamant and egoistic, even though it had accepted several of their demands, said Baljit Singh Bali of Punjab Kisan Morcha.
Some farmers also demanded the direct intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the matter.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Tomar said that even though this round of talks were indecisive, he was positive that the government would reach a solution in the next round of discussions.
‘The Centre will present its side before the committee appointed by the Supreme Court as well, I appeal to the farmers to be flexible in their approach’, he said.
