E-Paper
Farmers say ready to restart talks with Centre
Farmers protesting at Shambhu border in Patiala district of Punjab on Tuesday said they are ready to restart talks with the Union government over various demands, even though they are yet to get any fresh formal invitation from concerned officials to resolve the ongoing deadlock.
Farmers protesting at Shambhu border in Patiala district of Punjab on Tuesday said they are ready to restart talks with the Union government over various demands, even though they are yet to get any fresh formal invitation from concerned officials to resolve the ongoing deadlock.
“We have always been open for talks with the Centre. We did not run away from table talks. We have not been invited so far but if invited, we will definitely hold talks,” said Sarwan Singh Pandher, convener of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), a splinter group of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha or SKM (non-political) that is spearheading the protest.
The SKM (non-political) said it was hopeful of a resolution with a change in leadership in the agriculture ministry. Shivraj Singh Chouhan was recently appointed as the Union agriculture minister under the new Narendra Modi-led government. Earlier, the portfolio was held by Arjun Munda.
“There is a change of guard in the agriculture ministry. Let’s see what they have to offer and if they invite us for talks in the coming days,” SKM (non-political) convener Jagjeet Singh Dallewal said.
HT reached out to the agriculture ministry for a comment but did not get one immediately.
A farmers’ uprising has gripped the Punjab-Haryana border since February 13, with the cultivators seeking legal guarantees for higher crop prices, relaxation of strict environmental regulations, pensions and withdrawal of police cases filed against them during the 2020-21 farmers’ protests against the now-repealed three agricultural laws.
The farmers tried to ram through dense layers of police barricading and head towards Delhi but were kept at bay by police and security officials, who resorted to tear gas shells, water cannons and baton-charging.
The farmers are being led by two influential groups – SKM (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Sangh Committee (KMSC) – and have already made efforts to march towards the national capital, after multiple rounds of talks with the government failed to yield desired results.
The previous round of talks between the Centre and protesting farmers were held on February 18, 15, 12 and 8 but all ended in deadlocks.
On February 18, Union minister Piyush Goyal, minister of state Nityanand Rai and Munda met a group of senior farmer leaders, including Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) general secretary Sarvan Singh Pandher and Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur) chief Jagjit Singh Dallewal in Chandigarh. The negotiations also included Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann.
While the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur) is part of SKM non-political, KMSC is part of KMM.
At the meeting, the government offered a new mechanism – five-year contracts with cooperative societies to procure pulses, maize and cotton at minimum support prices (MSP). The farm leaders, however, rejected the offer, saying they still stand on their main demand of a legal guarantee of MSP on all 23 crops.
