Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on December 25 urged Punjab farmers to end their protest and come forward to hold discussions with the government to resolve the deadlock over the three new farm laws.
Mr. Tomar, who is leading the talks with 40 farmers unions, hoped that farmers would understand the importance of these three legislations and hold a discussion with the government and reach a solution.
He said there were misconceptions in the minds of these farmers, adding: “I want to urge them to leave the protest and come forward for the dialogue. I am hopeful that farmers will understand the importance of new laws and reach a solution.”
Thousands of farmers and their family members are protesting at various sites on the Delhi border for nearly a month seeking a repeal of the three farm laws. So far, five rounds of formal talks between the Centre and 40 protesting farmer unions have remained inconclusive.
The government has written to the unions twice, inviting them for the next round of talks at a date of their convenience.
Besides Mr. Tomar, Food, Commerce and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash are participating in the discussion with the unions.
The protesting groups have maintained that the new laws will eliminate the safety net provided by minimum support price (MSP), do away with the mandi (wholesale market) system and leave them at the mercy of big corporates.
The government, however, has said that these apprehensions are misplaced.
