'Govt willing to continue talks with genuine farm unions'

As a standoff continue between the government and groups of protesting farmers over three new farm laws Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday said the Acts have been welcomed in various states across the country but the Centre is willing to continue its talks with genuine farm unions to find a solution with an open mindHe also said that the Minimum Support Price MSP at which the government commits to procure the produce from farmers is an administrative decision and it will continue as it isTomars comments followed a meeting with members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Kisan from Uttar Pradesh who submitted a memorandum to the minister with suggestions regarding the Farm Acts and the MSPBharatiya Kisan Union Kisan has also decided to end for now its protest which it was holding at district levels in Uttar Pradesh They have not been part of nearly 40 farmers groups that have been protesting on various borders of the national capital and had attended the recent rounds of talks with the Centre without any breakthroughAccording to the ministrys statement Tomar thanked the BKU Kisan leaders for coming out in support of the Farm Acts and said these laws have been welcomed in various states across the countryHe Tomar further added that the Government is willing to continue dialogue with genuine farm unions and is willing to find a solution with an open mind the statement saidThe BKU Kisan leaders suggested that farmers be given an option of going to civil courts in case of a dispute They also suggested that the Panchayat head should be accorded the same importance as the head of the mandi to safeguard the rights of the farmers in small towns and villagesIn the case of the Essential Commodities Act they suggested that it should prevent hoarding and black marketingThe union leaders also suggested that electricity rates for irrigation should be reduced and electricity should be available for longer hours in Uttar PradeshThey also proposed that standards for crops should be decided at the procurement centres so that farmers do not face any problem in selling the produceAfter the meeting BKU Kisan President Pawan Thakur told reporters The minister explained the laws in detail and we realised the laws are really good We had some doubts he cleared them all The minister said he will look into our demandsHe also said the union stop its protest for the time being in Uttar Pradesh and UttarakhandIf our demands are not met we will protest again he addedThe minister listened to our key amendments carefully He said the government is discussing these issues already We suggested six issues to make the laws more effective We are happy with talks with the minister We believe that the government is working positively said Acharya Ram Gopala Dixit BKU Kisan Patron since 2009According to a memorandum earlier given by the union members they pressed for a separate legislation to ensure guaranteed MSP for crops saying the middleman buy crops at lower rate from farmers and sell it to government at MSPWe want a law on MSP so that crops outside mandis can not sold below that rate Farmers incurred losses this kharif season as they were forced to sell below the MSP If our demand is accepted we are ready to support the laws We dont know at what rate crops will be sold Ideally our crops should be sold above MSP but it is sold below that rate Thakur had said before his meeting with TomarTomar and some other ministers including Rajnath Singh have been meeting various farmer unions in the past few days who have extended support to the new lawsHowever several other farmer unions particularly from Punjab and Haryana are continuing to protest for more than two weeks against the three farm laws saying the new legislation will lead to the dismantling of the MSP and mandi systems and leave them at the mercy of corporatesSome ministers have also said that a few antisocial elements and Maoists are misusing the platform of farmers protest to further their own agendaSpeaking in Gujarat Prime Minister Narendra Modi said separately that a conspiracy is afoot to confuse farmers who have gathered near Delhi at presentThe Centre announces MSP for more than 20 Kharif and Rabi crops It mainly procures wheat and paddy to fulfil commitment under the National Food Security Act and to create buffer stockThe government under the food law provides 5 kg of wheat or rice per person per month at Rs 23 per kg to over 80 crore people through ration shops Of late the Centre also procures pulses and oilseeds under different schemes such as the Price Stabilisation FundIn its proposal to farmers on Wednesday last week the Centre had said it will give a written assurance that the MSP system will remain and also redress their other key concerns The unions however are demanding complete rollback of the central laws and have threatened to intensify their agitationKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke 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