NEW DELHI: After a meeting of the representatives of farmers' bodies from Punjab with Union ministers on Friday on the new farm laws enacted by the Centre remained inconclusive, the government offered to hold more discussions to resolve the matter.
Talking to the media after the meeting, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said there is a wide gap between their (farmers') demands and Central government's stand, which doesn't look like resolving soon, and therefore, it was decided to continue the talks on the issue.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Som Prakash, MoS, Ministry of Commerce and Industries, were also present in the meeting held at Vigyan Bhavan. The representatives of 29 farmers' bodies from Punjab attended the meeting.
Tomar said, "The meeting was held in a harmonious atmosphere. After the farmers expressed their views and we explained the government's stand, it came to our notice that there is a wide gap between their demands and the central government's position. So I requested them to have more discussions on the matter."
He said various issues related to farmers' welfare were discussed at length during the interaction. "I assured them that the government of India is always committed to protect the interest of the farmers and open for discussions for their welfare.
During the interaction, the ministers also told the farmers that procurement of farm produce on MSP and the Mandi system will continue as before. The new farm laws will encourage Mandis to provide better services to the farmers, they claimed.
Tomar said the government is taking several measures for the welfare of the farmers with a specific focus on 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', and the new farm laws would not only provide freedom of choice to the farmers to sell their produce at remunerative price, but also safeguard their interests.