Farm laws: Farmer groups boycott talks over ministers' absence; govt says open for discussions

More than two dozen farmer organisations on Wednesday boycotted a meeting on new farm laws convened by the central government as they were miffed by the absence of Union ministers, even as the agriculture ministry said the meeting was scheduled only at the secretary level.

On a day of dramatic developments, representatives of 29 farmer organisations shouted slogans and tore copies of the new farm laws outside Krishi Bhavan in the national capital after they boycotted the meeting.

More than 30 representatives, who had come in a bus, were mostly senior citizens but had not worn face masks despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The representatives were unhappy at the absence of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and ministers of state for agriculture in the meeting.

"The government has always been serious about agriculture. The Centre invited 29 farmer unions from Punjab, which were protesting in the last few days, for discussion. The meeting was scheduled at Agriculture Secretary level," Tomar said in a tweet.

In a late evening statement, the agriculture ministry also clarified that the meeting was scheduled to be held at the Agriculture Secretary level and asserted that the government is always committed to protecting the interest of farmers and is open for discussions.

"No proper discussion took place. Neither Union agriculture minister nor junior ministers were present to hear our concerns. We asked why the minister is not meeting us, why the government is playing double standards by calling us here and ministers holding virtual meetings in Punjab. There was no proper response," Darshan Pal, member of the coordination committee of 29 farmers' organisations, told PTI.

Since there was no response from Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agrawal, who was chairing the meeting, farmers' organisations decided to boycott the meeting, he said.

Shortly after the representatives walked out of the meeting, both Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal termed the minister's absence from the meeting with farmers an "insult" to "anndatas".

For the minister's absence, Chief Minister Singh accused the Centre of "adding salt to farmers' wounds" and harbouring "malice and ill-intent" towards them, while Badal said the absence was aimed at "insulting farmers' intelligence and people of Punjab".

Referring to the meeting with the representatives, the ministry said various issues related to farmers' welfare were discussed for about two hours.

At the end of the meeting, two memorandums on behalf of the farmer unions were submitted to Secretary Sanjay Agrawal, the ministry said in a statement.

Farmers have said that they would announce their next course of action on October 15 after a meeting in Chandigarh.

Harjinder Singh from Ajad Kisan Sangathan said, "The agriculture secretary had invited us to take our feedback on the new farm laws. We thought the agriculture minister would be there, but only the secretary was present." "We knew the secretary had no authority and there is no point discussing it with him. We decided to boycott," he added.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Dakaunda) president Buta Singh Burjgill told PTI over the phone that in the meeting, only the agriculture secretary was present for holding talks even though farmers were assured that the Central government would talk to them.

Burjgill said he told the agriculture secretary that "on one side, you have called us for the meeting here and on the other, several union ministers have been holding rallies and doing propaganda in Punjab. These are double standards." Earlier in the day, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said the government is always open for discussions with farmers on the new farm laws.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar have already held one round of discussion with farmer organisations on this issue, Javadekar said.

Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary held a virtual meeting on Wednesday with farmers of Sangrur and Barnala districts.

Farmers in Punjab have been demanding the repeal of the three laws passed by Parliament recently. Besides blocking rail tracks, farmers have laid siege to toll plazas, fuel pumps, shopping malls of some corporates and staged sit-ins outside the residences of several BJP leaders.

As the anger of farmers over the new legislation continues to simmer, eight Union ministers, including Hardeep Singh Puri, have been deputed to hold virtual rallies over eight days from October 13 onwards to "address apprehensions" of farmers in Punjab.

Farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws will pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporates.

The government, however, has been saying that the laws passed by Parliament recently amid a vociferous protest will raise farmers' income, free them from the clutches of the middlemen and usher in new technology in farming.