The sixth round of talks between the Centre and the farmers who have been demanding the repeal of the three new farm laws will be held at 2 pm today. The government is hopeful that they would find a solution for the issues of the farmers and resolve the protests which have been raging for over a month now. Meantime, ahead of the meeting, Union minister Som Prakash who has been part of the government's three-member team for negotiations with the farmers said, "Today's meeting with farmers will be decisive".
Sukhwinder Singh Sabra of Punjab's Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee said, "Five rounds of talks between farmers and the government have taken place. We don't think we will reach a solution even today. The three farm laws should be repealed.”
Minister Som Prakash said the government wants the farmers to celebrate New Year at their homes, with their family and “we are going into the meeting with an open heart and mind.”
Mr Prakash added that the government will try to settle all the problems of farmers so that people can go back to their homes soon.
"We will discuss every issue including Minimum Support Price. I can say that we are open to talks with an open heart. They too should come with an open mind. The agitation will end if they do that," Prakash added.
The farmers have re-emphasized time and again that they will accept nothing less than the scrapping of the three farm laws, as they claim that these laws will put them under the mercy of the corporates. Farmers leaders have rejected the Centre’s proposal of amendments in the laws after several petitions were submitted in the Supreme Court relating to the protest.
Also Read: Farmers sticking to core demands ahead of talks with Centre today at 2 pm
"The government was and is ready for negotiations. The difficulty is the farmers' 'yes or no' approach. Different ministers talked to them, but they turned their chairs back and did not talk," the Centre had told the top court earlier this month. The court had also ordered that a special committee should be formed, as that the Centre's negotiations have repeatedly failed.
Union Agriculture minister Narendra Tomar who will be present at today's meeting along with cabinet minister Piyush Goyal had before said that the government was expecting to finish the deadlock before the end of the year.