This story is from December 9, 2021

Government accepts demands, farm stir may end soon

The government on Wednesday agreed in principle to all the suggestions of the protesting farmer unions, including their demand of "unconditional" withdrawal of cases registered against farmers and their supporters, and sent a revised draft proposal that could now set the stage for an announcement of winding up protest sites along Delhi borders possibly on Thursday itself.
Government accepts demands, farm stir may end soon
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday agreed in principle to all the suggestions of the protesting farmer unions, including their demand of "unconditional" withdrawal of cases registered against farmers and their supporters, and sent a revised draft proposal that could now set the stage for an announcement of winding up protest sites along Delhi borders possibly on Thursday itself.
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The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) — a joint platform of farmer unions — unanimously agreed on the government's fresh proposal which reached them as an "unsigned" note, and requested the Centre to send a "formal communication signed on the government's letterhead" so that it could take a call on lifting the morchas (protest sites) on Thursday. This would mark the end of the more than year-long agitation.
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"We have accepted the revised draft given by the Centre over our demands. We will hold a meeting again on Thursday as soon as we receive a formal signed letter from the government and decide accordingly. The protest is currently still under way," said Gurnam Singh Charuni of BKU, Haryana, and Ashok Dhawale of All India Kisan Sabha, two of five leaders assigned by the SKM for discussions over the pending demands.
Responding to clarifications sought by the SKM, which on Tuesday rejected the government's initial "conditional" proposal to withdraw the cases provided the farmers end the agitation, the Centre on Wednesday removed the "condition", and said it was agreed that the cases against farmers and their supporters would be withdrawn by UTs (Delhi and Chandigarh) and central agencies such as the railways with immediate effect.

"The state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana too have agreed to withdraw the cases with immediate effect... The Centre would even request the states to initiate the process of withdrawal of the cases," said the note.
On the mandate of the proposed panel on minimum support price (MSP) on which the unions sought clarifications, the government said the mandate of the committee, having representations from the SKM, other farmer organisations, states and the Centre, would be how to ensure MSP to all farmers.
Noting its earlier assurance on MSP, the government also clarified that quantum of the procurement at support price would not be reduced in any state wherever it's currently being done.
On the compensation issue, where the unions wanted the government to follow the model of the Punjab government to provide financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to kin of the farmers reported to have died during the protests and government job to one of the family members of the deceased, the note said the governments of UP and Haryana have, in principle, agreed to this suggestion.
Even on the issue of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, the Centre clarified that the proposed legislation would not be introduced in Parliament without discussing it with SKM. Though the government's revised draft proposal continued to be silent on the demand that pertains to the arrest and dismissal of Union junior home minister Ajay Mishra on the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, SKM leaders said they would discuss the issue while taking a call on suspending the protests on Thursday.
Issuing a formal statement on the government's revised draft proposal, the protesting farmer unions said, "A consensus has been arrived at within SKM accepting the proposal. Now, a formal communication signed on the government's letterhead is awaited. SKM will meet again at noon on Thursday at Singhu Border to take a formal decision thereafter to lift the morchas."
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About the Author
Vishwa Mohan

Vishwa Mohan is Senior Editor at The Times of India. He writes on environment, climate change, agriculture, water resources and clean energy, tracking policy issues and climate diplomacy. He has been covering Parliament since 2003 to see how politics shaped up domestic policy and India’s position at global platform. Before switching over to explore sustainable development issues, Vishwa had covered internal security and investigative agencies for more than a decade.

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