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Farmers 'reject' Centre's proposal to put laws on hold for 1.5 years
The ball, it seems, is again at the Centre's court as farmers have reportedly rejected the proposal of keeping the laws in abeyance for 1.5 years.
A day after the Centre proposed to put the three agricultural laws on hold for at least 1.5 years, farmers union on Thursday rejected the proposal and said they want nothing but a complete withdrawal of all the three contentious agriculture laws. "In a full general body meeting of Samyukt Kisan Morcha today, the proposal put forth by the Govt yesterday was rejected. A full repeal of three laws and enacting legislation for remunerative MSP for all farmers were reiterated as the pending demands of the movement," Samyukt Kisan Morcha, which is the umbrella body of 40 farmers' unions, said after discussing the Centre's proposal. However, Bharatiya Kisan Union told ANI that the meeting was still going on.
For the first time in the month-long stand-off between farmers and the Centre, the latter proposed to keep the laws on hold for the time being. The time could be utilised to further the talks between the Centre and farmers until a common ground is reached. After Wednesday's meeting, Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar also expressed hope and said a solution is possible on January 22, the 11th round of meeting between the two parties.
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During the meeting on Wednesday with the ministers, several union leaders objected to the proposal saying postponing the implementation of the laws would bring no solution. What they want is a complete withdrawal of all the three laws and a legal guarantee of the MSP system. The leaders, however, said the final decision on Centre's proposal will be taken only after discussing it in details.
The unions held their discussion on Thursday and said they will not be accepting the Centre's proposal. With this, the situation again returns to ground zero which the ball again in Centre's court to decide its further course of action to address the farmers' issues. The meeting started in the afternoon and went on till late in the evening. Even after Samyukt Kisan Morcha issued a statement dismissing the Centre's proposal, Bharatiya Kisan Union said the final decision was still pending.
The implementation of the three laws was put on hold by a Supreme Court order passed early this month. The apex court also set up a committee which will find a solution to the ongoing impasse after consulting with all stakeholders. The SC-appointed committee held its first discussion on Thursday.
