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All eyes on third round of talks between Centre, farmer leaders in Chandigarh
Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai to meet farmer leaders at 5pm in Chandigarh to discuss their demands, including law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) for crops
A panel of three Union ministers will meet Jagjit Singh Dallewal of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Sarwan Singh Pandher of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), who have been spearheading the latest agitation, in Chandigarh on Thursday evening for the third round of talks amid the ongoing standoff between the agitators and security personnel at the Punjab-Haryana border.
Union agriculture and farmer welfare minister Arjun Munda, minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal and minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai will meet the farmer leaders at 5pm over their demands, including a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Also read: Bharat bandh: Farmers’ nationwide protest on February 16. Will banks, offices remain closed?
This will be the third round of talks between the two sides after the previous two rounds of dialogue on February 8 and 12 remained inconclusive.
Farmers from Punjab are camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders of Punjab and Haryana, seeking to march towards Delhi to press the Centre to accept their demands.
The farmer leaders have said they will not make any fresh attempt to move towards the national capital till the meeting is held, asserting that the next course of action will be decided on the basis of the Centre’s proposals.
Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner) have announced a four-hour rail rook (blockade) in the state from 12 noon to 4pm on Thursday. Farmers will squat on rail tracks at seven locations.
The decision was taken in protest against the hurling of tear-gas shells and water cannons used against the protesting farmers by the Haryana security personnel at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha has also decided to hold protests at toll plazas from 11am till 2pm.
Hundreds of farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders as part of their Dilli Chalo call.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the agitation to put pressure on the Centre for their demands, including a law on MSP, loan waivers and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations.
The Haryana Police have sealed the border with barricades stopping farmers from travelling to Delhi on their tractor-trolleys.
At the Shambhu border point near Ambala, there was intermittent shelling of tear gas by security personnel on Wednesday. It was used whenever any group of farmers moved towards the barricades.
Security personnel faced stone-pelting from the protesters.
A similar standoff continued at the Data Singhwala-Khanauri border near Haryana’s Jind district.
