The agitating farmers from Punjab have raised varied calls for (File)
Chandigarh:
A panel of Union ministers held a fourth spherical of talks with farmer leaders right here on Sunday over their calls for, together with a authorized assure of MSP, as 1000’s of protesting farmers camped on the Punjab-Haryana border.
Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Minister of Commerce and Business Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Residence Affairs Nityanand Rai reached the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 for the talks.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann additionally joined the assembly, which started at 8.15 pm on Sunday and ended at round 1 am on Monday.
Speaking to reporters after the assembly, Mr Goyal mentioned the panel has proposed the shopping for of pulses, maize, and cotton crops by authorities companies at minimal help costs for 5 years after getting into into an settlement with farmers.
The farmer leaders mentioned they are going to focus on the federal government’s proposal of their boards over the subsequent two days and thereafter, determine the long run plan of action.
“Cooperative societies just like the NCCF (Nationwide Cooperative Customers Federation) and NAFED (Nationwide Agricultural Cooperative Advertising and marketing Federation of India) will enter right into a contract with these farmers who develop ‘tur dal’, ‘urad dal’, ‘masoor dal’ or maize for purchasing their crop at MSP for subsequent 5 years,” mentioned Mr Goyal.
“There will likely be no restrict on the amount (bought) and a portal will likely be developed for this,” he added.
It’s going to save Punjab’s farming, enhance the groundwater desk, and save the land from getting barren which is already beneath stress, Mr Goyal mentioned.
On the Centre’s proposal, farmer chief Sarwan Singh Pandher mentioned, “We’ll focus on in our boards on February 19-20 and take the opinion of consultants relating to it and accordingly take a call.”
A dialogue on mortgage waivers and different calls for is pending and we hope that these will likely be resolved within the subsequent two days, Mr Pandher mentioned, including that the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march is at the moment on maintain, however will resume at 11 am on February 21 if all the problems usually are not resolved.
The Union ministers and farmer leaders had met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15 however the talks remained inconclusive.
Protesting farmers from Punjab have been tenting at Shambhu and Khanauri factors on the state’s border with Haryana since February 13 when their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march was halted by police.
The decision for the march was given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha to press their calls for.
Moreover a authorized assure of MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Fee’s suggestions, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electrical energy tariff, withdrawal of police instances and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the households of the farmers who died throughout a earlier agitation in 2020-21.
Forward of the fourth spherical of talks, the SKM introduced that it’ll gherao the residences of BJP leaders in Punjab for 3 days from Tuesday to press the Centre into accepting their calls for.
Balbir Singh Rajewal, a pacesetter of the SKM, an umbrella physique of varied farmer unions, mentioned they are going to stage protests in entrance of the residences of Punjab BJP leaders, together with MPs, MLAs and district presidents, from Tuesday to Thursday.
Interacting with reporters after a gathering of SKM leaders in Ludhiana, Mr Rajewal mentioned it has additionally been determined that they might protest in any respect toll boundaries within the state and make them free for all commuters from February 20 to 22.
The SKM is not going to settle for something lower than the C-2 plus 50 per cent system for MSP as really helpful within the Swaminathan Fee report, he mentioned after the assembly which was additionally attended by farmer leaders Balkaran Singh Brar and Boota Singh, amongst others.
Earlier, farmer chief Jagjit Singh Dallewal mentioned the central authorities mustn’t dilly-dally and settle for farmers’ calls for earlier than the Mannequin Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha elections comes into drive.
If the federal government thinks it is going to proceed to carry conferences until the Mannequin Code of Conduct is imposed after which say it can not do something because the code is in drive… the farmers usually are not going to return, he mentioned.
“The federal government ought to discover a answer to our calls for earlier than the Mannequin Code of Conduct comes into drive,” he added.
In Haryana’s Kurukshetra, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni and a few ‘khaps’ took half in a panchayat to chalk out a plan of action to help the protesting farmers from Punjab.
Mr Charuni advised reporters after the assembly that it was determined to unite all farmer organisations to carry a protest in help of the agitation.
Mr Charuni mentioned chunk of the agricultural belt is a part of the Nationwide Capital Area (NCR) and a four-member committee has been fashioned to attach with farmers from Delhi.
He mentioned it’s shocking that the federal government isn’t permitting the farmers to journey to Delhi on their tractors.
Khap chief O P Dhankar mentioned Haryana ‘khaps’ are behind the agitation and the central authorities mustn’t delay giving a authorized assure of MSP.
One other ‘khap’ chief who attended the panchayat mentioned farmers will attain Delhi and protest if the talks fail.
In the meantime, the suspension of web companies has been prolonged in sure areas in some Punjab districts, together with Patiala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib, until February 24 on the orders of the Union Ministry of Residence Affairs.
Earlier, web companies had been suspended from February 12 to 16 in view of the farmers’ march.
The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) continued to carry protests at toll plazas in Punjab for the second consecutive day, forcing authorities to not cost toll tax.
On the Ladhowal plaza in Ludhiana, farmers shouted slogans in opposition to the Centre and the Haryana authorities.
The Haryana authorities on Saturday prolonged the ban on cell web and bulk SMS companies in seven districts until February 19.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
