A panel of Union ministers held a fourth round of talks with the farmer leaders at Chandigarh on Sunday over their demands, including various demands a legal guarantee of support price for 23 crops (MSP), implementation of Swaminathan Commission, waiving of farmers loans. Rs 10000 pension to the farmers every month, compensation to the farmers injured at Lakhimpur Kheri, punishment to the accused involved in Lakhimpur Kheri incident, roll back all cases against the farmers and suitable compensation to the family of farmers died during protests with job to a member of the family. However, issues regarding MSP applicable for 23 crops and waiving of loans against farmers remained unsolved.
Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai reached the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26, Chandigarh for the talks. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting, which began around 8:30 pm and continued late into the night. The Union ministers and farmer leaders had met earlier also on February 8, 12 and15 but the talks remained inconclusive. Meanwhile, the protesting
farmers from Punjab have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri points on the state’s border in Haryana since February 13 when their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march agitation by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) an Kisan Mazdoor Morcha to press their demands was intervened by Haryana police and attack on each other by protestors and police continued for three days. According to information, there were no attacks on each other between protestors and the police on Sunday. However, large number of tractor trolleys were seen parked at the border.
Besides a legal guarantee of MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21 were widely discussed during Sunday meeting between Union ministers and the farmer leaders. Ahead of the fourth round of talks, the SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal announced that it will stage protests outside the residences of BJP leaders in Punjab including MPs, MLAs and district presidents for three days from Tuesday to Thursday to press the Centre into accepting their demands. Interacting with reporters, Rajewal said it has also been decided that they would protest at all toll barriers in the state and make them free for all commuters from February 20 to 22.
Balkaran Singh Brar, Boota Singh and a few other farmer leaders said that they will not accept anything less than the C-2 plus 50 percent formula for MSP as recommended in the Swaminathan Commission report. Earlier, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said the central government should not dilly-dally and accept farmers’ demands before the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha elections comes into force. “We want to tell the government that it should avoid the policy of dilly-dallying,” Protesting leaders told reporters at the Shambhu border point. If the government thinks it will continue to hold meetings till the Model Code of Conduct is imposed and then say it cannot do anything as the code is in force and in such case the farmers are not going to return, they said, “The government should find a solution to our demands before the Model Code of Conduct comes into force.”
Information reveals that at Kurukshetra in Haryana Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) group) president Gurnam Singh Charuni and some ‘khaps’ took part in a panchayat to frame a course of action to support the protesting farmers from Punjab. Charuni told media persons that it was decided to unite all farmer organisations to hold a protest in support of the agitation. Charuni said that the rural belt is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) and a committee of a four-member committee has been formed to connect with farmers from Delhi. He said, it is surprising that the government is not allowing the farmers to travel to Delhi on their tractors. It is a farmer’s vehicle and they need to carry eatables and ration for the agitation on their tractors, he added.
Khap leader O P Dhankar said Haryana ‘khaps’ will also support the agitation and the central government should not delay giving a legal guarantee of MSP and accept demands by farmers. Meanwhile, the suspension of internet services has been extended in certain areas in some Punjab districts, including Patiala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib, till February 24 on the orders of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) continued to hold protests at toll plazas in Punjab for the second consecutive day, forcing authorities not to charge toll tax. The Haryana government on Saturday extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts till February 19.
General secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee Sarvan Singh Pandher said, “We will wait for the proposal by the government in the next two days, will continue with the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on February 21 if there is no result.” According to information, due to closure of traffic on roads, five states in North incurring daily loss worth Rs 1650 crore.
