Centre-farmer talks cordial, next round on March 19: Agriculture Minister Shivraj Chouhan

The second round of talks between a three-member Central Government delegation, led by Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi, and farmer forums ended here after three hours.

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, and Food and Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak led the state government delegation.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Agriculture Minister Chouhan said the discussions with the representatives of protesting farmer bodies Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) were held in a conducive atmosphere.

Chouhan said the next meeting would be held on March 19.

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema stated that discussions were held on the quantity of crops purchased at MSP, but a difference of opinion arose. Cheema added that three central ministers urged Jagjit Singh Dallewal to end his fast, but he refused.

The three Central ministers, along with the delegation of Punjab Government, held parleys with 28 representatives of the two forums at the Mahatama Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration here.

This was the second meeting of the second round of talks between the Centre and the representatives of the two forums, who have been protesting at the Punjab borders with Haryana at Shambhu and Khanauri since February last year. As many as 60 farmers have also died during these year-long protests.

In the first meeting of the second round of talks, held on February 14, it was decided to continue to engage with each other and find a solution to the demands of farmers, which primarily include a legal guarantee for the MSP, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission Report, debt waiver for farmers and farm workers, a pension scheme for farmers and labourers, cancellation of cases registered against farmers during the 2020-21 protests and compensation and job to kin of farmers who have died during the protests.

Meanwhile, the presidium of Samyukt Kisan Morcha, comprising of Buta Singh Burjgill, Ruldu Singh Mansa and Buta Singh Shadipur, have warned the two above-mentioned forums negotiating with the Centre against deviating from the legal guarantee for MSP on crops and crops being procured in accordance with the formula prescribed in the Swaminathan Commission report.

It may be mentioned that recently, an audio of Abhimanyu Kohar, the spokesperson for the SKM Non Political, had gone viral, in which he presented the economic theory of partial government procurement of 25-30 per cent in the context of the ongoing negotiations with the Union Government regarding the MSP and purchase guarantee law and other farmer demands, arguing that in this way, the farmers will get MSP. The SKM has rejected the proposal and warned that any kind of partial purchase agreement will be a favourable agreement for the corporate houses.

Ahead of the meeting, Shivraj Singh Chouhan gave a statement in Delhi saying that the Centre was committed to purchasing wheat and paddy crops on the MSP, and that they were continuously increasing the MSP on these crops. He said that they had also increased the credit limit of farmers from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.