No breakthrough in 7th round of Govt-farmers’ talks

India: The seventh round of talks between protesting farmer unions and three central ministers failed to reach a breakthrough in the over-a-month-long deadlock on recent farm laws. The next meeting between the Centre and farmers is scheduled to take place on January 8 at 2 pm.

In the fresh round of talks on Monday, the farmer leaders continued to press for the withdrawal of the three farm laws but the government remained firm on their stand and refused to rollback the agricultural reforms.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, who is an MP from Punjab, held the talks with the representatives of 40 farmer unions at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

The meeting began with paying respects to the farmers who lost their lives during the ongoing agitation. However, no breakthrough was reached on the two main demands of the protesting farmers — a repeal of the three recent farm laws and a legal guarantee to the MSP procurement system.

The farmers, unlike last time, also refused to share food with the Union ministers during lunch break at the meeting.