The Supreme Court has finally had to step in to mediate between the farmers and the government. It is indeed ironic that our politicians who have always had a turf war with the courts are now looking to the SC to help them find a way out of this standoff. But with both sides adamant, there was little room for leeway. The government was clear that it would not be seen as one that gets cowed down by blackmail and so will not roll back the laws in toto but are open to amendments; the farmers on the other hand want nothing less than a rollback, and then talks for framing new laws to replace these. In the end, what both sides want is talks but also face savers. And so, the government has decided that while it will hold talks for the optics, it will leave the resolution to the courts. Repeatedly, the farmers have been stating that the government ministers come late to the meetings and don›t show much inclination to engage. The farmers also say that the government could have put the laws on hold much earlier when the court first talked about setting up a committee. And perhaps saved them the stakeout in the bitter cold. The court said as much during the deliberations. But the government too had its reasons. Some say that it wants the courts to direct the setting up of such a committee, because if the farmers› refuse to comply then it would be a direct confrontation between the courts and the farmers and the government would be out of the firing line. The protesting farmers have made it clear that they have now picked up a momentum, forming a committee would only push the issue into a cold storage to be revived by the government, whenever the farmers have disbursed and are busy in their fields. Right now, they are ready for a longish stakeout, once disbursed will they be able to revive this momentum again?
Moreover, the composition of the SC committee is also being viewed as pro-law rather than pro-farmers. Perhaps anticipating this, the farmers had made it clear at the very outset, even before the names were announced that they were not interested in talks of any form or at any fora until the laws were rolled back. As far as the decision of the farmers to join the Republic Day parade on their tractors, the court has left it to the Delhi Police to maintain law and order. Very much like what happened during the Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare protests in the capital during the UPA. And we all know the outcome of that.
So, those hoping that the court would end the standoff between the farmers and the government will now have to think out of the box for other solutions. The stakeout has, of course, made some social media heroes.