NEW DELHI: Thousands of farmers observed a day-long token fast and others continued their protest, but there was no meeting ground yet to resolve the stand-off on the new farm sector laws, which entered the nineteenth day on Monday.
However, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh appeared to reach out to the farmers, saying the Modi government will never take any anti-farmer steps.
“There is no question of taking retrograde steps against our agricultural sector ever. The recent reforms have been undertaken with the best interests of India’s farmers in mind,” Rajnath said.
Meanwhile, cracks appeared among the protesting farmers as the National Working Group of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSSC) chucked its national convener V M Singh after he announced his willingness for talks with the governnment.
“The National Working Group of the AIKSCC decides to do away with the post of convenor. Henceforth, all decisions shall be taken only by the working group,” it said in a statement. V M Singh, who heads a union of cane and paddy farmers in UP, said he is ready for talks and drop the demand for repealing the three laws, if the Centre brings another law to guarantee the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism for all farm produce.
In Rajasthan, farmers continued to block the Delhi-Jaipur highway at Shahjahanpur and the number of protestors grew by about a thousand despite the dipping temperature.
Observing that agriculture was the mother sector, Rajnath said the government was always open to discussion and dialogue. He pointed out that agriculture was the one sector that avoided the adverse effects of the pandemic and managed to come out stronger.
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Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar met home minister Amit Shah and discussed the way forward.
Tomar also met a delegation of the All India Kisan Coordination Committee, which extended support to the farm laws. This is the fourth group of farmers that has extended support to the laws in last two weeks.
Talks will definitely happen: Tomar
Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the Centre was ready to discuss the laws threadbare clause by clause, adding the next round of talks with the farmers “will definitely happen”.
Farmer leaders have to decide and convey when they are ready, he said