The government offered to set up a committee to look into issues raised by farmers protesting against new farm laws on Tuesday, but it was rejected by representatives of 35 farmers’ organisations during their marathon meeting with three Union ministers.

The meeting remained inconclusive and the government has called for another round of discussions on Thursday, December 3, farmers’ union leaders and government officials said.

Sources said farmers’ representatives were unanimous in seeking repeal of the three laws that they have been terming as being against the interest of the farm community.

At the nearly three-hour-long meeting at Vigyan Bhawan here, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar was accompanied by Railways and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash, also an MP from Punjab.

After the meeting, Bharat Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) President Joginder Singh Ugrahan said it remained inconclusive and the government had called for another meeting on December 3.

The protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the Centre's farm laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

The government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture.

"We are ready for a discussion to resolve their issues. Let's see," Tomar told reporters before start of the meeting. He added that the government would arrive at a solution after hearing the representatives of the farmer organisations.

"The farmer's organisations rejected the government's proposal to form a five-member committee to look into the issues related to the new farm laws," Roopsingh Sanha, member of Bharat Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), one of the largest blocks of protesting farmers, told PTI.

The government side was, however, firm in its stand that a high-level committee must be formed to look into the issues and wanted the farmer representatives to further consider the proposal.

Sources said the ministers were of the view that it was difficult to reach a decision while interacting with such large groups and therefore they suggested meeting with a smaller group, but the farmer leaders were firm that they would meet collectively only.

Union leaders said they feared the government might be trying to break their unity and the momentum of their protest.

Heavy security arrangements were in place around the meeting venue.

An earlier meeting on November 13 had failed to give any breakthrough and the next one was originally scheduled for December 3, but it got advanced due to the ongoing protests on Delhi borders.

Peaceful sit-ins by farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, continued at the Singhu and Tikri borders with no untoward incident reported after Friday's violence, while the numbers of protestors swelled at the Ghazipur border since Monday.

Opposition parties too stepped up the pressure, asking the Centre to "respect the democratic struggle" of the farmers and repeal the laws.

Earlier, one of the 32 farmer unions invited for talks backed out and demanded that representatives of all 500 organisations that were part of protests be invited.

General secretary of Punjab-based farmers' outfit Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) Sarwan Singh Pandher said the government was trying to divide the protesters by not inviting all the unions. "A committee of several farmers' bodies has not been invited and moreover, the Prime Minister is not holding this meeting. Because of these reasons, KMSC is not going to attend the meeting," KMSC general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said.

Pandher accused the government of trying to divide the protesting farmers by not inviting all the farmer unions. "If 32 Punjab-based farmers' bodies have been invited (for talks), a committee representing around 500 farmers' organisations is also there which should have also been invited," he said.

"By not inviting all farmers' bodies, an attempt is being made to divide the farmer organisations. If we attend the meeting, it will be presumed that this agitation (against farm laws) is only taking place in Punjab which could be the conspiracy of the Centre," he claimed.

Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that these farm laws are in the interest of the farming community, Pandher said, "He (the PM) has already given his decision before the meeting. And now, no minister can go against the PM."