There seems to be no end to the deadlock between protesting farmers and the Centre. Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait on Monday, November 29, said that the protests would go on despite the passage of the Farm Laws Repeal Bill at the Winter Session of Parliament.

He said their demand for the introduction of a law to ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers still stands and the protests will go on till it is accepted.

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“By denying a law, the government wants to give corporates the freedom to loot farmers. After December 4, we shall decide on the direction of the protests,” said the Bharatiya Kisan Union leader. He seemed to avoid questions on when the roadblocks would be removed. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha is expected to take a decision on the agitation on December 4.

Rakesh Tikait on Sunday demanded that the Centre bring in a law to guarantee Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops to protect the interest of farmers in the country. “The Centre should bring a law to guarantee MSP to farmers. There are several issues related to the agriculture and labour sectors that need attention and we will travel all over the country to highlight them,” he said.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday had said that a committee to make the minimum support price (MSP) system more transparent and effective. “With the constitution of this committee, the farmers’ demand on MSP stands fulfilled. This committee will have representatives from farmers’ organisations,” he had said, urging the agitating farmers to “go home”.

On November 19, PM Modi announced that the Centre had decided to repeal the three contentious farm laws that a section of farmers have been protesting against since 2020. While welcoming the move, the farmers have reiterated that they have six demands that are yet to be fulfilled by the government. The most important of these is the demand for a legal guarantee of MSP.

Their other demands include withdrawal of the draft Electricity Amendments Bill, 2020/2021, withdrawal of criminal cases against farmers and removal of provisions in the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Act 2021 that allow the possibility of penal action against farmers for stubble burning.