Chennai: The stage is set for the eighth round of talks to be held between the government and farmer unions today noon.
On Thursday, both sides stuck to their respective positions, with the agitating farmers taking out tractor rallies to press their demand for rollback of new agricultural laws and the Centre asserted that it is ready to consider any proposal other than their repeal.
Farmer leader Shiv Kumar Kakka, a senior member of the Samkyukt Kisan Morch, said that unions have not received any proposal for allowing some states to opt out and asserted that they will reject the same if it is sent to them.
“I want to make it clear that Samkyukt Kisan Morcha has not received any proposal on allowing states to opt out of the three farm laws. We will not accept anything less than the repeal of three agriculture laws and a legal guarantee on minimum support price for our crops,” Kakka said.
“If it is true (about any such proposal), it is a divide and rule strategy by the government,” the farmer leader said.
The Samkyukt Kisan Morch is an umbrella body of around 40 farmer unions protesting at several Delhi border points for the last 43 days against the new agri laws.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) chief Joginder Singh Ugrahan, who is also a senior member of the Morcha, denied receiving any proposal from the government. “We have not got anything (any new proposal) from the government,” Ugrahan said.
During an interaction through Facebook, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav, who is actively participating in the ongoing protest against the new farm laws, accused the government of ‘fuelling such rumours’.
Earlier in the day, renowned religious leader Baba Lakha met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, even as the latter denied giving any proposal to the former.
Tomar said that the government is ready to consider any proposal other than repeal of three farm laws, the key demand of the protesting farmers.