The first round of talks between leaders of 35 farmers’ organisations with Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday remained inconclusive, as the government refused to accede to their demand to repeal the newly enacted farm laws.
The farmers’ leaders also turned down the government's offer to set up a small committee of experts to resolve the contentious issues. Besides Tomar, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash attended the meeting.
“We want the three laws to be repealed. That is our only demand,” Balbir Singh Rajewal, President of the Rajewal faction of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, said after the meeting.
The ministerial team also held a separate meeting with members of the Tikait faction of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, representing farmers from western Uttar Pradesh, who have been protesting at the Ghazipur border in east Delhi.
The Agriculture Minister said another round of talks will take place on Thursday.
The farmers’ organisations announced that their agitation would continue at various border points of the national capital, and would be strengthened every passing day till they get a clear solution to their demands from the government.
As farmers' organisations continued their protests, Tomar sent them an invitation for talks late Monday night. The offer was initially rejected on Tuesday morning as the protesters also sought representation for their comrades from Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Haryana at the dialogue table.
“The protests are not limited to Punjab. We agreed for talks after the government agreed to our demand to include leaders from other states for the talks,” Jagjit Singh Dalewal, President of the Punjab unit of the Bhartiya Kisan Union, told DH.
Earlier, BJP President J P Nadda summoned senior ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Tomar for discussions on resolving the farmers' issue.
A section of the farmers was upset at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s repeated assertions backing the farm sector reforms. They contended that it gave an impression that the government was not ready to accept the concerns raised by the farmers.