Farmers Movement Archive

Farmer unions reject govt appeal to suggest repeal alternative

NEW DELHI: A day after talks over new agri laws registered some progress, farm unions on Thursday said the Centre’s appeal to them to suggest an alternative to repeal of the laws wasn’t feasible. “Unless the laws are scrapped, there’s no scope to discuss pro-farmer changes in mandis and processes for ensuring doubling of farmers’ income,” said AIKSCC, umbrella body of the unions. They urged the Centre “to stop being rigid and not indulge in semantics”. It appears to be a posturing exercise on part of the farmers ahead of the next round of talks on January 4 where the main sticking points are up for discussion. Thursday’s remarks came after the union representatives met on the outcome of Wednesday’s talks. Though they called the government’s ‘in principle’ agreement with two demands — shelve the electricity amendment bill and remove penalties for stubble-burning — a “major victory”, they said their mobilisation would continue. The progress in the talks marks a further concession by the Centre but only regarding issues over which it has been ready to alter its stand. The government has looked to keep the unions engaged and has sidestepped the higher bar the unions have set from time to time. Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar during the talks on Wednesday urged the unions to suggest any alternative to repeal of farm laws and also insisted on having a committee which can examine the “constitutional validity” of the demand. “The government is unnecessarily painting itself into a corner by widening the trust deficit as it is going on defending the laws in an escalated PR effort and is continuously trying to discredit the farmers' movement in numerous ways. This should not be so,” Kavitha Kuruganti of Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch told TOI. Reflecting the mood of farmer representatives, Kuruganti, working group member of the umbrella body and only woman farmer representative in the group of 41 who attended the talks, said, “The first requirement is the de-escalation of this posturing, so that this does not become a prestige issue. The government is not dealing with political adversaries but with the largest section of Indian society and economy.”

The Times of India

2021-01-01

India