Chhavi Bhatia
New Delhi: The eighth round of talks between the Centre and protesting farmers ended inconclusively on Friday. While the government reiterated bringing amendments to the new farm laws, the farmer leaders hardened their stand saying they will go back once the laws are repealed. A fresh meeting is scheduled to take place on January 15.
“Our ghar wapsi will happen only with law vapsi,” a union leader said this at the meeting today, clearly showing the mood of lakhs of farmers who have dug in their heels at various Delhi borders protesting against the controversial laws. In another strong message, the farmers also carried placards with ‘ya jittaange ya maraange’(we will either win or die) written on them. The leaders also told the Centre that agriculture was a state subject and the states should have all the say in this.  The farmers also made it clear that they will march towards the National Capital on Republic Day as planned if the standoff persists.

Agriculture minister Narendra Tomar, however, ruled out any possibility of revoking the laws, saying it has been “welcomed” by a large number of farmers and the unions should keep national interest in mind. The meeting at Vigyan Bhawan scheduled to take place at 2, happened a little after 2:30 PM with the ministers arriving late.
“The government is in no mood to resolve the issue. It does not even care for farmers who are camping out in the cold or those who are dying every day. The PM has not expressed any concern over the 70 martyrs we have lost,” said Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rajinder Singh.
Jagmohan Singh, another senior BKU leader lamented that the government was “anti-farmer”. “They told us to approach the Supreme Court but we told them point blank that we will not move the court. They sought another meeting so we agreed. There is no contention, though that we will accept anything other than repeal,” he asserted.
The ninth round of talks will be held on January 15, after the Supreme Court’s next hearing on the farmers protest issue, which is likely to be held on January 11.
The eighth meeting got off to a tense start, with the Centre saying it cannot and will not repeal the three laws, as it needs to look at the interests of the whole country, including other farmers groups which support the laws. Mr. Tomar blamed the unions for their failure to come up with any alternative proposal apart from repeal.
At this point, Balbir Singh Rajewal who heads his own faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, raised his voice and shouted, accusing the government of being adamant. He said that the Central Government did not have a right to interfere in agricultural activity, indicating that there are previous Supreme Court judgements establishing this. Union leaders vowed that they would not return home until the laws were repealed, repeating slogans such as, “Ya jitenge, ya marenge” (Win or Die), and thumping their desks in unity.
The farmers would not even take the usual lunch or tea break “under protest”, refusing to budge from the conference room while the government delegation left for an hour-long break.
“I do not have any hope for the next meeting. The government is only repeating the same thing, they are not listening to us at all. But farmers will not be the first to break off, we will not be responsible for the breakdown of talks. That is why we will come back on January 15,” said Gurnam Singh Chadhuni, who heads a Haryana faction of the BKU. “We will all come into Delhi with our tractors on Republic Day. Perhaps they will listen to us then.”
Later in the evening, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar dismissed the farmers’ insistence on repeal of the three farm laws, saying it was only for media consumption. “If this was the case, then the meetings would have stopped long back and new dates wouldn’t have been announced…perhaps this is what they (farmers’ union) have decided to say for media’s consumption,” he told journalists after a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah at his North Block office. He said the three laws were not the only issues on the table and was hopeful that a solution is reached soon.(With agency inputs)