Chandigarh: Union ministers engaged in over five hours of discussions with protesting farmer unions late Thursday night amidst a tense standoff at two points on the Punjab-Haryana border. Both parties have agreed to reconvene for further talks on Sunday.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann participated in the meeting held at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26. Representing the Centre were Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai. The discussions revolved around various demands from the farmer unions, notably regarding a law ensuring a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Following the more than five-hour-long deliberation that concluded early Friday, Union Minister Arjun Munda described the talks as positive and announced plans for another round on Sunday at 6 pm. Punjab’s chief minister expressed satisfaction with the detailed discussions and noted consensus on several issues.
This marked the third round of talks between the parties, with previous dialogues on February 8 and 12 yielding no breakthrough. Notable farmer leaders in attendance included SKM (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher.
Amidst the ongoing standoff, farmers from Punjab halted their march to Delhi following the assurances of dialogue with the ministers. However, protests escalated with farmers blocking railway tracks in Punjab in response to alleged police action against the “Delhi Chalo” protesters at border points.
The demands of the protesting farmers encompass a legal guarantee for MSP, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and laborers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases, justice for victims of violence in Lakhimpur Kheri, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, and compensation for families of deceased farmers from previous agitations.
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