Seems govt’s stand over MSP will be fine, says Bharatiya Kisan Union after meeting with Centre

The talks between the protesting farmers’ organisations and the Union ministers made little progress on Thursday, Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said after the seven-hour meeting concluded for the day.

Speaking after the meeting, Tikait said the government has given indications over Minimum Support Price (MSP), one of the key demands of agitating farmers, “It seems that their stand over MSP will be fine,” Tikait said.

The issue is about the complete rollback of laws, Tikait also said. “Farmers want that the laws be taken back,” he added.

The next round of talks will take place on December 5.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana are protesting against three farm laws which were recently enacted during the monsoon session of Parliament in September. They are protesting against the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Service Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The farmers are demanding the complete withdrawal of the laws as they fear that it will lead to the end of Mandi system and are only in the interest of big corporates. However, the government has so far refused the demand.

However, the government has assured that no such thing would happen. Meanwhile, it had asked the farmers’ bodies to identify specific issues that are worrying them.

Thursday’s meeting was held between the leaders of 40 farm organisations and three ministers from the central government - Narendra Singh Tomar along with railways, food and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal and minister of state for commerce Som Prakash. The meeting at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan today is the fourth round of talks between the government and the farmers.

The Centre also offered to set up a committee to discuss the provisions of laws. However, it has been rejected by the farmers’ unions. Instead, they have demanded a special session of parliament to repeal the laws.