3rd round of talks between farmer leaders and Union ministers ends after 5 hours; next meeting on Sunday

Tribune News Service

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, February 15

The third round of talks between farmer leaders and Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai ended here after 5 hours. Farmer leaders said that the next meeting would be held on Sunday, and till then peaceful protests would continue.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also attended the meeting, said that talks were held in a positive and peaceful manner. “I raised the issue of Internet being suspended in Patiala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib districts by the Centre...our farmers are only sitting on the border. There had been consensus on many issues tonight. Our farmers will maintain peace, but I asked the Centre to tell Haryana also to maintain peace and not resort to the use of power against our farmers,” he said. Mann said he also asked the Central Government that all the arrested farmers should be released.

After the meeting, Union minister Arjun Munda said: "We had the discussion in a positive manner on various issues. We will have a fourth round of talks next Sunday:" 

Earlier, the meeting started after a delay of three hours around 8.15 pm on Thursday, at Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 here.

Farmer leaders including Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jarnail Singh took part in the meeting.

The previous two rounds of dialogue on February 8 and 12, however, remained inconclusive.

Earlier, state president of Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta (Ugrahan) Joginder Singh Ugrahan said the Central Government should immediately accept and implement the long standing important demands of the farmers.

“Two years have passed since the farmers' movement and the farmers have already been made to wait for a very long time. Now the argument that laws regarding MSP cannot be made in a hurry is absolutely absurd,” he said in a statement.

He said that guaranteeing government procurement above the MSP of all crops, implementing universal public distribution system, eradicating the entire debt of farmers and farm labourers, taking India out of the imperialist world trade organization, and preserving the legacies of the martyrs of Lakhimpur and issues like complete justice to farmers, old age pension to them and fully compensated crop insurance scheme should be resolved immediately.

20:33 15 Feb

A meeting between farm leaders and Union ministers started after a delay of three hours.

19:49 15 Feb

Punjab CM to be part of the meeting

The meeting will commence shortly and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will also be part of the deliberations.

17:03 15 Feb

Farm leaders arrive in Chandigarh for talks with Union ministers

Farm leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jarnail Singh arrive for talks with the Central team at Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26.

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