Farmers' Protest Enters 56th Day: A Timeline Of How Talks With Centre Unfolded
The farmers¡¯ agitation at Delhi¡¯s borders has entered its 56th day on Tuesday. The farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been sitting at protest since November 25 last year.?
They been demanding a complete repeal of the three farm laws promulgated by the Centre, fearing that they would lead to the abolishment of the minimum support price (MSP) guaranteed by the government on select crops and would leave them at the mercy of big corporates.?
The three laws are: Farmers¡¯ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020; and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020.? ?
Tenth round of talks postponed
Now,?the Agriculture Ministry has postponed the next round of talks between Central Ministers and protesting farm unions, which was supposed to be held on Tuesday, to Wednesday.?It was the tenth round of talks which was to begin?when a Supreme Court-appointed committee began consulting stakeholders to end the impasse.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court observed on Monday that its intervention on the new farm laws has been ¡°misunderstood¡±, and that the question of who should be allowed into Delhi to hold protests is a law and order issue that has to be handled by the police and not the court.
Timeline of farmers agitation
Here's a brief timeline of farmers agitation and how various rounds of talks with Centre unfolded.
January 15, 2021: Talks between the government and farmers¡¯ unions yet again remained inconclusive, as protesting leaders stayed firm on their demand.?This was the ninth round of discussions over the drawn-out dispute, which again failed in ending the weeks-long stalemate.
Leaders of the 40 farmers' unions negotiating with the centre also said they want continued direct communication with the centre, "not brokers". They maintain they will not appear before the panel since the members were already in "favour of the farm laws".??
November 25, 2020: After sporadic protests against the new farm laws, including a nationwide road blockade on November 3, farmers¡¯ unions in Punjab and Haryana gave the call for ¡®Delhi Chalo¡¯ movement. The Delhi Police, however, rejected their request to march to the capital city citing Covid-19 protocols.?
November 26, 2020: Farmers marching towards Delhi faced water cannons, tear gas as the police tried to disperse them at Haryana¡¯s Ambala district. Later, police allowed them to enter Delhi for their peaceful protest at Nirankari ground in North-West Delhi.?
December 3, 2020: The government held first round of talks with representatives of farmers but the meeting remained inconclusive.?
December 5, 2020: The second round of talks between farmers and the Centre also remained inconclusive.
December 9, 2020: Farmer leaders rejected the Union government¡¯s proposal to amend the three contentious laws and vowed to further intensify their agitation until the laws are repealed.?
December 11, 2020: Bharatiya Kisan Union moved the Supreme Court against the three farm laws.?
December 16, 2020: The Supreme Court said it may constitute a panel having representatives of the government and farmer unions to end the deadlock over the controversial agriculture laws. This after three additional rounds of talks failed, with Centre being adamant and farmers, too, sticking to their demands.
December 30, 2020: Sixth round of talks between government and farmer leaders saw some headway as the Centre agreed to exempt farmers from stubble burning penalty and drop changes in Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020.?
January 4, 2021: Seventh round of talks between government and farmer leaders also remained inconclusive with the Centre not agreeing to repeal the farm laws.
January 11, 2021: The Supreme Court rapped the Centre for its handling of the farmers¡¯ protest. The top court said it would constitute a committee headed by a former Chief Justice of India to resolve the deadlock.?
January 12, 2021: The Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the three contentious farm laws and set up a four-member committee to make recommendations on the legislations after listening to all stakeholders.
