One month after walking out of talks with the Union Government, farmer organisations have returned to the negotiating table in a bid to end the impasse and their meeting with Union Ministers ended inconclusively on Friday with both sides sticking to their ground. They held a meeting with Union Railway minister Piyush Goyal, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Commerce and Industries minister Som Prakash and presented a long list of demands.
During the seven-hour-long crucial meeting, both sides heard each other’s stand and tried to bring common ground for restoring rail services in Punjab, which is currently facing a blockade.
According to farmers’ leaders, centre has not given any assurance for resumption of goods train services in the state. Farmers’ leaders said they will now hold a meeting in Chandigarh on November 18 to decide their next course of action. Farmers’ leaders said that they will observe Black Diwali day on November 14, with continued silent protest at toll plazas and other locations in the state.
After the meeting, Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said that in the meeting, it became clear that their demands and government’s position are far from a point of reconciliation and can’t be resolved immediately. “I’m thankful that they came & I have requested them for more such discussions,” he said. “It was assured that the Government of India is always committed to protect the interest of farmers and is always open for discussions for the welfare of farmers. The talks were held in a
cordial atmosphere and both sides agreed to continue to hold further discussions,” agriculture ministry said in a statement.