New Delhi: The talks between the central government and the farmer unions remained inconclusive for the fifth time on Saturday.
The government, according to reports, sought time from unions to present a concrete proposal and proposed another meeting on December 9.
During the meeting on Saturday, the farmers union went on a ‘maun vrat’ (vow of silence) and sought a reply in ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on their key demand of repealing the three new farm laws. They also threatened to walk out if the government was not willing to scrap the laws.
Union leaders said they do not want anything less than the complete repeal of the laws, which they claim are the laws meant to end the mandi system and minimum support price procurement system to give for benefits of corporates.
During the meeting, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar also appealed to the union leaders to send back the elderly, women and children to their homes from the protest sites and assured that farmers procurement at minimum support price will continue.
The talks between the government and the protesting unions began around 2.30 pm and was also attended by Railway, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash.
Thousands of farmers are protesting on various borders of the national capital since November 26, seeking repeal of three farm laws enacted in September. Earlier today, Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Narendra Singh Tomar visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in New Delhi, news agency ANI reported.
