Punjab farmers 3rd round of talks with Centre ends; next meeting on May 4

The third round of talks between Punjab farmers and the central delegation concluded in Chandigarh on Wednesday.

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The next meeting is scheduled for May 4.

Representatives from 28 farmer unions, forming the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, participated in the meeting.

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi attended the meeting.

Puran Chand Krishan has been appointed as secretary to discuss the legal guarantee on MSP with all stakeholders.

The three central ministers stated that the meeting was held in a conducive atmosphere.

Harpal Cheema, Punjab Finance Minister, said: “The meeting was held in a positive atmosphere. The data provided by the farmer unions regarding the implementation of MSP on all crops will be examined by the Centre,” adding: “There are no plans to remove protesting farmers from the Khanauri and Shambhu borders.”

The meeting lasted for four hours.

The Punjab government was represented by ministers Lal Chand Kataruchak and Gurmeet Singh Khudian. In the previous meeting held on February 22, the farmers had presented their perspective on how the Centre could obtain financial support to provide MSP on all crops.

The central team had expressed doubts about the data, prompting the farmer unions to submit a detailed report along with their data sources. This is expected to be the primary topic of discussion in Wednesday's meeting. With a heavy police presence stationed at Banur and Ladda Kothi in Sangrur since Tuesday night, farmer leaders have expressed their displeasure.

KMM leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “The deployment of a large police force is unacceptable. It does not send the right message. I will raise this issue in the meeting.”