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Hopeful of positive results in next talks with farmers: Munda
The Centre has held three rounds of talks with the protesters but failed to end the impasse, with the farmers refusing to dial down on their demands
New Delhi Union agriculture minister Arjun Munda on Friday said the unresolved issues between the protesting farmers and the government can only be solved through dialogue, adding that he was hopeful that the upcoming fourth round of talks between the two sides will “yield positive results”.
The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said the Centre considered the farmers as “family members” and was committed to finding a solution to their concerns. Farmers from Punjab and Haryana have continued to lay siege to the borders between the two states over a raft of demands, including a law on minimum support prices (MSP).
“Solutions can be found only through dialogue. The idea is to resolve their concerns by holding talks on key issues,” he said during an interaction with reporters at his New Delhi residence.
The Centre has held three rounds of talks with the protesters but failed to end the impasse, with the farmers refusing to dial down on their demands. The Centre has sought to explain that it cannot frame and implement a law on MSP “in a hurry”.
“The government is trying to explain to the farmers the ground reality and the practicality [linked to the possible implementation] of a lot of their demands,” Munda said.
The farmers have also sought debt waivers, jobs for relatives of people killed during the 13-month-long farmers protest in Delhi between November 2020 and December 2021, compensation for the farmers injured in Lakhimpur Kheri in October 2021, and the withdrawal of cases registered against protesting cultivators.
The Union minister called the three rounds of negotiations held so far as “peaceful and positive”. “Many things came up in the discussions, we will continue the dialogue before coming up with any solution, we should study favourable and unfavourable impacts to ensure that we do not do anything that could cause us trouble later,” the minister, who was part of the panel of ministers that has held the talks said.
The two sides are scheduled to hold the fourth-round of talks on Sunday.
“The government is positive that it will reach a permanent solution and the farmers should also keep that in mind and have a conversation accordingly. We need to reach a reasonable solution, which will not affect any stakeholder terribly,” he said.
The Shambhu border separating Haryana and Punjab turned a battleground earlier in the week as thousands of farmers faced off with columns of security personnel, who lobbed tear gas shells and fired water cannons towards protesters in a bid to keep them from marching towards Delhi. The Opposition targeted the Centre over the police action, accusing it of resorting to brutality against the farmers.
Munda, however, rejected the Opposition’s charge and said each state has the right to maintain law and order in its administrative area. “The discussions should not be given a political angle. Why did the Congress not take any decision on the issue when they were in power?” he said.
