No headway as farmers firm on MSP demand, Chouhan lists Centre’s sops
No headway could be reached in the second round of talks between the protesting farmers and a central team comprising three ministers here tonight as the farm unions remained adamant on their demands, including a legal guarantee on the MSP of crops. The two sides decided to hold further discussions on March 19.
Farm unions to decide on feb 25 march today
- Farm unions will decide on Sunday whether to go ahead with Delhi march on Feb 25
- Union leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said they would hold an internal meeting of all unions to take a call on this
Don’t give in to govt pressure: SKM panel
An SKM panel comprising Buta Burjgill, Ruldu Mansa and Buta Shadipur has warned the unions engaged in talks with the Centre against going soft on their demands
The central team, comprising ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Agriculture and Farmers Welfare), Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Industry) and Pralhad Joshi (Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution), insisted that the government was “committed to not only purchasing crops on the MSP, but also supporting farmer welfare schemes”.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Chouhan said the discussions took place in a cordial atmosphere. “We heard the views of farmer leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher. A very good discussion took place. The talks will continue and the next round of dialogue will be held in Chandigarh on March 19,” the minister said after the three-hour meeting. The last meeting was held on February 14 and the central team was led by Joshi. Sources said the ministers asked Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal to end his fast, an appeal he declined.
“We all are on the same page. We want to resolve your issues,” Chouhan is learnt to have told the 28-member delegation from the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and the SKM (Non-Political). Gathered under the banner of the two forums, farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 last year after security forces stopped their Delhi march. As Chouhan highlighted welfare schemes launched by the Centre for farmers, Dallewal insisted that guaranteed MSP was the “only way out to ensure farmers got suitable remuneration for crops, and that it would stop farm suicides”.
Abhimanyu Kohar, Bhartiya Kisan Naujawan Union president, presented data to highlight that “farmers across the country suffered Rs 2,400-crore losses in bajra alone by selling the crop below MSP. “The total losses for 2023-24 on all crops exceeded Rs 20,000 crore. Each year, the Agriculture Ministry surrenders unutilised funds exceeding Rs 20,000 crore to the Finance Ministry. This money can be used for ensuring guaranteed MSP,” said farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher.
After the meeting, Chouhan said the talks were held in a conducive atmosphere and the dialogue between the two sides would continue. Punjab ministers Harpal Cheema, Gurmeet Singh Khudian and Lal Chand Kataruchak also participated in the meeting.
Cheema said the discussions focused on the quantity of crops procured on MSP and those sold below the support price. “The central ministers wanted to know the source of the data presented by farmers as it did not match their statistics. The farm union leaders assured them of providing the source within a week,” he said.
After the meeting, Khudian and Kataruchak held separate meetings with union leaders. The unions demanded that farmer Shubhkaran, who died during a protest last year, be declared a “martyr”, the state government pass a resolution in the House supporting farmer demands and reject the Draft National Policy Framework on Agriculture Marketing.
