The government has proposed to hold another meeting with protesting farmers on Dec. 9, after Saturday’s talks ended in another deadlock.
The farmers have taken a vow of silence and sought a clear “yes or no” answer from the government on their demand of repealing the three new farm laws.
According to sources, the government has sought some time from the farmer unions to present a concrete proposal after further consultations. The Ministry of Agriculture later tweeted that the fifth round of talks has ended.
Leaders of the farmer unions said that they do not want anything less than a complete repeal of the new farm laws, which according to them will end the mandi system as well as the minimum support price mechanism for the benefit of the corporates.
During the meeting, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar appealed the farmer union leaders to send back the elderly, women and children to their homes from the protest sites.
Thousands of farmers are protesting at vairous points of the Delhi border since Nov. 26, seeking a repeal of the farm laws enacted in September. In a meeting that lasted for more than four hours, farmer leaders told the government to reply in “black and white” whether it will repeal the laws or not.
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Gurlabh Singh Mahal, legal adviser to the Punjab Kisan Union, said the farmer leaders wanted the government to answer in “Yes or No” and decided to go on a ‘maun vrat’ after the government did not reply to their pinpointed demand. Some farmer leaders present in the meeting were seen putting a finger on their lips and holding up a paper that read ‘Yes or No’.