New Delhi: On August 4, Wednesday, more than 100 farmers’ organisations from several states gathered in Rakabganj Gurudwara in the hope of resuming discussions with the government. They have decided to form a committee under the leadership of V.M. Singh whose demand is not for the return of new farm laws, but for amendments to the existing farm laws.
However, farmers camping on Delhi’s borders do not want to talk to the government about anything less than the repeal of three farm laws, and this is where the contradiction begins. The Wire spoke with V.M. Singh about the situation, and here’s what he had to say:
“Farmers refuse to speak with the government, despite the government’s repeated statements that it is willing to talk with them. There have been no talks between the government and farmers for seven months, and farmer leaders on the border are saying, ‘We won’t talk to the government unless they withdraw bills,’ while the government is insisting, ‘We won’t take the bill back’. So we’ve come up with a solution: if the administration agrees to modifications, we will want four. Farmers cannot go to court; allow us to go to court; please clarify Section 9 because farmers are concerned about losing their lands.”
“Punjab farmers are concerned that something fishy is going on, but this will be resolved as well. I request that the government state that no one will buy anything for less than MSP. The government has promised a guaranteed price, so I am saying state a guaranteed minimum support price, make immediate payments to farmers, and then let’s talk. The parliament is in session, so who’s stopping you? All of the parties are prepared.”
When I told V.M. Singh that you’re saying you’re fine with modifications, but the farmers on the Tikri, Singhu and Gazipur borders don’t want to talk until the government repeals those laws, what would you do?
“Look, there are over 130 organisations present, and 45-50 of them are from Uttar Pradesh.” So, are you going to run against the government in the Uttar Pradesh elections? I asked V.M. Singh.
“All of these people were leaders of various organisations; the government should be concerned that these people could form a government and then bring it down. Therefore, the government should pay attention to farmers. When negotiating, numerous disagreements arise, which is why we are just demanding four things. Perhaps after this, Punjab farmers would agree to this, because the primary issues are land and MSP, but at the very least, the government must demonstrate that they have a clean record.”
“What if the government accepts your amendments’ requests, but the farmers on the border demand something different? So, will you pay them a visit? They’re just a few miles away at Jantar Mantar,” The Wire asked Singh.
“Only 200 people are coming; in 2018, I ran 542 members of parliament,” V.M. Singh replied.
The Wire has also contacted the Bharatiya Kisan Union about this.
Yudhvir Singh, secretary general, Bharatiya Kisan Union, told The Wire that there are 135 crore people in India, so getting 100-125 individuals to a table isn’t a huge thing; “there may have been a few organisations that we didn’t know about, but none of ours or those who were with us were not present”.
“Our demand has remained the same since the beginning; we refuse to speak until the bills are withdrawn. V.M. Singh left us a few months ago on January 26, and at the time, he said the same thing; there is nothing new in it, and even if the government agrees to amend the laws, we will remain firm on one point: “Withdraw all three black laws.””
