Farmers’ Protest HIGHLIGHTS: Centre-farmers talks hit roadblock; unions threaten to intensify agitation

Protesting farmer leaders Friday said their proposed tractor rally scheduled for January 26 will take place on Delhi's busy Outer Ring Road as decided earlier, after their Friday’s talks with the government ended in a deadlock. Coming out of the meeting, farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said it is for the government to ensure that the rally is peaceful.

"Tractor march on January 26 will take place as decided by us on Outer Ring Road. We have informed the police that it is for the government to ensure that it should be peaceful," PTI reported Rajewal as saying.

The 11th round of discussion between the government and the protesting farmers' unions hit a roadblock on Friday, with both the sides hardening their stands, and could not even reach a decision on the date of next meeting. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said there are no problems in the farm laws brought by the farmers but the Govt still offered to suspend them as a sign of respect for farmers. At the end of the 11th meeting to break the deadlock over the laws, Tomar thanked the protesting farmer unions for cooperation and told them that the govt is ready for another meeting if they want to discuss proposal on suspending laws.

Meanwhile, the farmer leaders alleged even as the meeting lasted for nearly five hours, the two sides sat face to face for less than 30 minutes. 'The minister made us wait for three & a half hours. This is an insult to farmers. When he came, he asked us to consider the government's proposal and said that he is ending the process of meetings,' said S S Pandher of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, adding that the agitation will continue peacefully.

Eleventh round of meetings between farmer unions and the government over the three farm laws has ended. "No date for the next meeting has been fixed by the government," says Surjeet Singh Phul, State President of BKU Krantikari (Punjab).

NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday said he will take part in a protest planned in Mumbai to express support for farmers agitating against the new agri- marketing laws enacted by the Modi government. Talking to reporters in Kolhapur, around 375km from here, the former Union agriculture minister noted that the agitating farmers have rejected the Centre's offer to suspend the new laws for 18 months. --PTI

On their 11th meeting over the three contentious farm laws, the farmer unions Friday told the government they want a complete repeal of the legislations while the Centre asked them to reconsider its proposal for putting the Acts on hold for 12-18 months. “We told the government that we will not agree to anything other than the repeal of the laws. But the minister asked us to discuss separately again and rethink on the matter and convey the decision,” farmer leader Darshan Pal told PTI during a break after the first session of their meet.

Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Friday said the Centre and protesting farmers should ensure that stubbornness and ego do not come in the way of resolving differences over the new agri-marketing laws. The former Union minister said it is after a gap of more than 30 years that farmers have gathered near Delhi to push for their demands. It is an opportunity for both the government and farmers. Stubbornness and ego from both sides should not come in the way (of finding a solution to impasse over new laws), she told reporters at her bungalow here. --PTI

Lakhs of farmers from different parts of the country are expected to join the tractor parade in New Delhi on Republic Day. The parade on January 26 will be held on Outer Ring Road, and won't interrupt the official Republic Day parade, farm leaders said. Farmers have also planned to set up tableaus on tractor-trolleys during their parade. Read more here

Three Union Ministers are leading the talks with farmers today, Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal and Som Prakash. The talks started just after 1 pm. So far, all rounds of talks have remained inconclusive. On Wednesday, Tomar said he believed the talks were moving in a “meaningful direction”, and “we expect to move towards a solution on January 22.”

Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha says the government does not have the power to keep laws in abeyance, and can only repeal them.

Govt does not have the power to keep a law passed by Parliament in abeyance specially when it's rules have been notified. Such a law can only be repealed.

— Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) January 22, 2021

The eleventh round of talks between the government and farmer unions is underway in Delhi.

The 11th round of talks between the government and representatives of farmer unions begins at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.@IndianExpress @iepunjab pic.twitter.com/XsBT1jerVH

— Harikishan Sharma (@harikishan1) January 22, 2021

After a round of internal discussions on Thursday, farmer unions rejected the government’s offer on keeping the farm laws on hold. But why did the government offer this in the first place? Liz Mathew lists 5 reasons:

• SC's move to stay the implementation of the law
• RSS leadership’s public statement calling for “sensitivity” 
• Sangh leadership’s open call could embolden those “disapproving voices” inside the party
• The tractor rally on Republic Day
• Upcoming Parliament session

As farmers reject the government's proposal to keep the three contentious farm laws in abeyance for 18 months, experts have raised questions over the legislative options the Government has going forward. The laws, passed by Parliament in September last year, were notified in the official gazette on September 27 after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent. While Parliament can repeal the law, there is no vocabulary in the Constitution or Parliamentary procedure for keeping a law in abeyance. Read Apurva Vishwanath and Liz Mathew's report

During the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, Sonia Gandhi has targeted the government over the ongoing farmers’ agitation, saying it has shown "shocking insensitivity and arrogance going through the charade of consultations".

“It is abundantly clear that the three laws were prepared in haste and Parliament was consciously denied an opportunity for examining in any meaningful details their implications and impacts. Our position has been very clear from the very beginning: we reject them categorically because they will destroy the foundations of food security that are based on the three pillars of MSP, public procurement and PDS,” she said. Read more here

Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, leader of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), a farmers’ movement, said there would be over 10,000 tractors participating in the parade on January 26. “Around 25,000 farmers will enter Bengaluru and reach Freedom Park through the main roads of the city via Yeshwanthpur and Malleswaram. The parade will be held from Nelamangala to Bengaluru, with farmers arriving in more than 10,000 tractors and other vehicles. The parade is planned to begin soon after the chief minister hoists the national flag,” he said. Read more here

Representatives of the central government and farmer unions will meet today for another round of talks over the farm laws. During their last meeting yesterday, farmer unions rejected the Centre's proposal to keep the laws in abeyance for 18 months, and reiterated their demand for repeal of the laws.