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This story is from December 30, 2020

Consensus on power tariff, stubble burning in Govt-farmers 6th round of talks; next meet on Jan 4: 10 key developments

Consensus on power tariff, stubble burning in Govt-farmers 6th round of talks; next meet on Jan 4: 10 key developments
Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar at a 'langar' with farmers' representatives during a meeting over the new farm laws at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday.
NEW DELHI: The central government and 41 protesting farmers’ unions held the sixth round of talks on Wednesday and agreed on the resolution of the issue of power tariff and penalties for stubble burning. However, the deadlock continued over two main contentious issues of scrapping the three farm laws and a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).
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The next round of talks would be held January 4.
Here are the key developments of the day:
1. The sixth round of negotiations between the government and the protesting farmers’ unions was held in Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital. The meeting, which started at 2.30 pm, went on for almost five hours. The government was represented by Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, accompanied by food and railways minister Piyush Goyal and minister of state for commerce Som Parkash at the meeting. Representatives of 41 unions of the protesting farmers held talks with the three Union ministers.
2. After the meeting ended, Narendra Singh Tomar said at least 50 per cent resolution had been reached with mutual agreement on two out of four items on the agenda and discussions would continue on the remaining two on January 4. "Discussions on the three farm laws and MSP are continuing and will continue in the next round of talks on January 4," he told mediapersons. He said talks were held in a cordial atmosphere.
3. Agriculture minister Tomar hailed the unions for maintaining peace and discipline during their protest, but urged them to send the elderly, women and children back to their homes due to the extreme cold weather. He said the union leaders kept insisting on repeal of the three farm laws, but the government tried to explain them the benefits of the Acts and sought to know specific problems faced by the farmers. On farmers' demand for a legal guarantee for procurement at MSP, Tomar said the government has already said that it is ready to give a written assurance.

4. After the meeting, farmers’ union leader Kalwant Singh Sandhu said talks mostly focussed on electricity and stubble burning, while the next meeting on January 4 would focus on the MSP guarantee and the three farm laws.
5. The three Union ministers joined the farm leaders to share 'langar' food arranged by protesting farmers during their sixth round of talks. The 'langar' (community kitchen) food arrived in a van at Vigyan Bhawan after around two hours of discussions had taken place and the two sides took a break for tea and snacks. Sources present at the venue said that Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal and Som Parkash joined the farmers’ leaders to share their langar food during the break. Farmers’ leaders said that the talks were continuing and they were going 'agenda wise'. During the last few meetings, farmer leaders have been arranging their own lunch, snacks and beverages while refusing to have the food organised by the government. At one such meeting, farmer leaders had even invited the ministers to langar at their protest site on the Singhu border.
7. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that farmers do not trust Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to his long history of "asatyagraha" and shared an online survey asking people why the PM was not repealing the farm laws. "'15 lakh in every bank account and 2 crore jobs every year', 'Give me 50 days time, else...', 'We will win war against corona in 21 days', 'Neither has anyone intruded into our territory nor took over any post'. Farmers don't trust Modi ji due to his long history of 'asatyagraha'," he said in a tweet. The former Congress president also shared the online survey, asking, "Mr Modi is refusing to repeal the anti-farmer laws because he is:" and gave the options "anti-farmer", "run by crony capitalists", "arrogant" or "all of the above". Rahul Gandhi is currently abroad visiting an ailing relative and also meeting his maternal grandmother.
8. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said his government intends for all farmers to get the MSP benefit for which directives have been issued to ensure proper functioning of paddy procurement centres in the state. According to a press release, the chief minister directed that farmers' produce be procured without any delay and, if required, additional arrangements should be made for it. The CM stressed that the intention of his government is to ensure that farmers get all benefits of the MSP, the release said.
9. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress urged farmers protesting against Centre's farm laws to talk directly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying otherwise the dialogue will not yield any result. Commenting on farmer leaders' meeting with the centre over the laws, former Union minister and Akali Dal's Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said they shouldn't fall into the “trap” of extended meetings, “which yield nothing”. Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar too favoured direct talks with the PM, saying the involvement of the prime minister or Union home minister is a must for a successful dialogue. “Our farmers are on the cusp of victory. I appeal to them to hold direct talks with the PM to get these agri laws repealed," Badal said in a tweet. “They shouldn't fall into the trap of extended meetings which yield nothing,” the Bathinda MP added.
10. Farmer union leaders said peasants in some parts of the country are being forced to sell crops including paddy below the MSP as market rates have fallen and asserted that the agitation will continue till the government agrees to their demands. "After new farm laws were implemented in Uttar Pradesh, prices of crops have fallen by 50 per cent. Crops are being bought at below MSP. Paddy is being sold at Rs 800 per quintal. We will raise these issues in the meeting," Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said.
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