Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers’ call today on ending stir as govt ‘meets’ 5 demands

NEW DELHI: Amid indications of a narrowing of differences, the Centre on Tuesday formally offered agitating farmer unions a draft proposal, addressing five of their six demands. It included withdrawal of cases against farmers, provided they end their agitation which has seen blockades on major roads at Delhi’s borders. Responding to the offer, the unions insisted the government must first initiate the process of withdrawal of cases. They said a decision will be taken on the ongoing protests on Wednesday only after getting clarifications on this issue and certain other points. Yet, the flow of events suggested that a resolution could be in sight, possibly after a meeting between the union leaders and senior ministers. Read AlsoSupreme Court defers hearing on plea to evict protesting tillersNEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday deferred by more than a month its hearing on a PIL seeking removal of farmers, who have been blocking the highways linking Delhi to other states to protest against the three new farm laws, as the Centre and profarmer petitioner sought adjournment on ground ofAnticipation of a settlement was heightened by a rare convergence in Supreme Court on Tuesday when solictor general Tushar Mehta and lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing farm unions, jointly sought deferment of hearing on a plea for clearing of blockades on Delhi borders. The court put off the PIL by more than a month, noting, “This is probably the first time the SG and Bhushan are making a joint request.” Govt proposes MSP panel, end of stir for withdrawal of casesAppealing to the unions, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and west Uttar Pradesh, to end their protests, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) wrote to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) — the joint platform of protesting unions — and gave a five-point proposal which includes setting up a committee on MSP with representations from the SKM and other organisations, withdrawal of cases with a condition to first end the agitation, and in-principle agreement on compensating the kin of the farmers who died during the year-long protests. The ministry elaborated that withdrawal of cases would also pertain to those registered in the UTs (Delhi and Chandigarh) and by the central agencies such as railways. On the other two demands, the ministry assured the unions that the government would not introduce the Electricity (Amendment) Bill in the Parliament without consulting all stakeholders. Besides, it said, the government has already decriminalised the stubble burning provisions (Section 14 and 15) in the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Law. The unions would need to take a call on the MSP issue as it is highly unlikely that the Centre would agree to a legal guarantee and a committee would certainly have representations from pro-reform unions like the Shetkari Sanghatana. The ministry’s note to the SKM, however, remained silent on the sixth demand about arrest and dismissal of junior home minister Ajay Mishra in the wake of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which four farmers died. Read AlsoFarmers to hold meeting on December 8 to decide future of agitationThe protesting farmer unions have finally reached a consensus on the future course of the agitation as the Centre has accepted nearly all their demands, farmer leader Kulwant Singh Sandhu told PTI on Tuesday.A formal announcement regarding the protest will be made on Wednesday.The three points on which the unions sought clarifications from the government include beginning the process of withdrawal of cases in a timebound manner, composition and terms of reference of the proposed committee on MSP, and the quantum of compensation. These MHA’s missive, farmer leaders said, was not clear on these issues. Elaborating on the clarifications, Dhawale, one of the five members of the committee formed for talks with the government, said, “The MSP committee proposed by the government may include even those farmer organisations that supported the farm laws. This is not acceptable to us.” Though the MHA letter has not spelt out the modalities of withdrawal of cases and the quantum of the compensation, it said the UP and Haryana governments have given in principle consent on compensation while Punjab has publicly announced its decision.

The Times of India

2021-12-08

India