Farmers' protest: Agriculture Min Narendra Tomar chairs key meet ahead of talks on Dec 9

Amid the ongoing impasse between the Centre and the farmers, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar chaired a key meeting on Sunday ahead of the sixth round of talks. Minister of State (MoS) Agriculture Kailash Choudhary and Parshottam Rupala were also present in the meeting earlier today. Pertinently, the next round of discussions with the farmers' representatives is scheduled to be held on Tuesday. 

On Saturday, ahead of the fifth round of talks with the farmers, The Agriculture Minister had met with PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister Rajnath Singh as well at the Prime Minister's residence. Tomar has reiterated his assurance on the issue of MSP to the farmers and continuously appealed to the unions to call off the protest and engage in discussions. So far, five rounds of discussions have been held with the unions hinting at 'little progress' after the fourth round. 

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Next round of talks on December 9

Addressing the media on Saturday, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar announced that the next round of talks with farmer leaders will be held on December 9. Asserting that the Minimum Support Price system will continue, he expressed that the Centre's willingness to address concerns regarding this. Moreover, Tomar stated that the Union government will deliberate on all the demands of the farmers. On this occasion, he highlighted the initiatives of the Modi government for ensuring the welfare of farmers and reiterated that it had no intention of abolishing the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees. 

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Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar remarked, "The talks happened in a cordial atmosphere. We have said that MSP will continue.  There is no threat to MSP and the apprehensions over this are baseless. But even then, if someone has concerns, the government is ready to address them."

"On December 9, a meeting will be held again. We have told the farmers that the government will examine all their demands. It will be our attempt to reach a solution. It would have been easier for us to reach a solution if we got suggestions from farmer leaders. We will still wait for that," he added. 

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Despite the Centre's repeated assurance and appeals, the farmers' unions have remained stern on continuing with the protest. The unions have issued a call for Bharath Bandh on December 8, Tuesday, which has been supported by several political parties across the country. Indian Tourist Transporters Assn (ITTA) & Delhi Goods Transport Association have also called for strike on December 8 in solidarity with farmers’ protest in Delhi. “51 unions decided to support farmers. Farming & transporting are like 2 sons of a father,” ANI quoted Satish Sherawat, President of ITTA.

READ | Centre Welcomes Farmers' Feedback Amid Talks, Says 'engaging With An Open Mind': Sources