New Delhi: The government’s ninth round of negotiations with protesting farmer unions will take place Friday as scheduled. The Centre is hopeful of positive discussions, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said Thursday. “The government is ready to hold talks with farmers’ leaders with an open mind,” Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters here.
The minister also cleared the confusion over the fate of the ninth round of talks. It was the only outcome that was reached during the January 8 discussions. Since then the Supreme Court has appointed a four-member committee to look into the contentious farm laws. Tomar however, said only the government’s representatives and the farmer union leaders will be present during the discussions.
The farmer unions have been maintaining that they were ready to attend the scheduled talks with the government. However, they have said they do not want to appear before the court-appointed panel. They have also questioned its composition. Farmer unions and opposition parties had called it a ‘pro-government’ panel. They said its members have been in favour of the three laws in the past.
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The apex court had Tuesday stayed the implementation of the three central laws till further orders. It also announced the formation of a committee to hear the grievances of the farmers and the opinion of the government.
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the border of Delhi for several weeks. They are demanding the repeal of the laws they say will lead to the weakening of the minimum support price (MSP) system.
