Editor's Pick: a long pause

The Hindu Newsletter - Newsletter - subject [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Friday 22, January 2021 [alt_text]( Editor's Pick A long pause [alt_text]( (The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) After more than ten rounds of talks between farmers' groups and the government, the Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar announced on Wednesday that the government was ready to suspend the implementation of the [three contentious farm laws](for 18 months. The government has found itself increasingly in a bind with the continuing protests and clearly wants to avoid the spectacle of farmers holding a [tractor rally on Republic Day]( as several protesting unions are still threatening to do and which the Supreme Court has refused to ban. That [proposal has failed to make headway](, however, with the farmers' unions sticking to their demand that the three laws be repealed, and legislation guaranteeing minimum support prices for all farmers be enacted. The decision was taken after a tumultuous five-hour meeting of the full general body of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a joint front representing about 500 protesting groups, at the Singhu protest site on the Delhi-Haryana border on Thursday evening. And the unions will inform the Centre of their decision at the eleventh round of talks that will take place today. On the government side, our reporting suggests that there is a realisation that the communication game had been lost early in the day. A spate of changes in laws governing small industry, labour and agriculture were passed during the COVID-19 lockdown period and while it is true that a lot of consultation took place, it was in policy circles and not in Parliament. The announcements, when they came, were sudden. The [indefinite continuation of the protest]( is also reportedly making the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) the BJP's ideological mothership nervous, with the concern being raised that an indefinite agitation by the farmers was not desirable for any stable government. Despite the rejection of the proposal by the farmers’ groups, yesterday’s concession of sorts by the government seemed like a turning point. Eighteen months is a long time in politics and by the end of that period the home stretch for another general election will be just around the corner. Whether the government will still have the appetite to push through contentious laws then is an open question. That makes this story our top pick of the day. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Name the song that played on the loudspeaker on the tarmac as Donald Trump's presidential jet took off for the two-hour flight to Florida on the Inauguration Day? 1. God Bless the U.S.A. - Lee Greenwood 2. My Way - Frank Sinatra 3. Y.M.C.A. - Village People 4. The Hunters of Kentucky - Samuel Woodworth To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here]( The Big Story [Rajiv Gandhi assassination case | Tamil Nadu Governor will decide on Perarivalan plea in 3, 4 days]( [alt_text]( From the Front Page [alt_text]( [Biden begins dismantling Trump’s legacy on Day 1]( [alt_text]( [5 die in Pune Serum Institute fire]( From the Opinion Pages [alt_text]( [Defending liberty against political prosecution]( [alt_text]( [Getting it wrong on India’s level of agricultural support]( Today's Editorials [American healing: On Joe Biden i](nauguration [Privacy and surveillance: On Wha](tsApp user policy You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0bffw2q4bf2f90kaup33rtbysa8hk0q@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) To ensure you continue to receive emails from The Hindu in your inbox, please add newsletters.th@newsalert.thehindu.com to your contact. If you can't see the mailer, please [click here.]( Group Sites [The Hindu]( | [இந்து தமிழ் திசை]( | [Business Line]( | [BL on Campus]( | [Sportstar]( | [Frontline]( | [The Hindu Centre]( | [Images]( | [roofandfloor]( | [Classifieds]( Copyright @ 2021 ,THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. [About Us]( | [Contact Us]( | [Digital Subscription](