CHANDIGARH: The Central government has sought five names from farmer unions for a panel on Minimum Support Price (MSP).
After a meeting of the 32 Punjab farmers unions at the Singhu border on Tuesday, Samyukta Kisan Morcha member Harinder Singh Lakhowal said, “The Centre has asked us to give five names of farmer leaders who would be part of the committee to be formed by the government on MSP. We have not decided the names. Samyukta Kisan Morcha will decide the names in its meeting on December 4. We also demand that this committee should function in a time-bound manner.”
Lakhowal added that they hope the cases lodged against farmers will be taken back. “Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has indicated that cases registered against farmers in Haryana can be withdrawn.
Tomorrow, a delegation of farmers from Haryana is likely to meet Khattar. The Punjab government has announced that cases registered against farmers during the agitation will be withdrawn.”
The farmer leader said that they are requesting the Centre to instruct the Railways, Chandigarh administration and Delhi Police to withdraw cases against the farmers.
“The Centre should give compensation to the families of the 700-odd farmers who died during the agitation, besides a financial package and government job for one of the kin in each family,’’ he said.
Sources said that some of the farmers camping at Singhu and Tikri borders for more than a year have started preparations to go back home. They will go back once SKM says it is time. Until then, they will not move.
“We have packed our belongings in our trucks but will remain at the protest until we get final orders from the farmer leaders. We have been here since December 2 last year,’’ said a farmer.
“All pending demands of farmers and the Centre’s stand will be discussed elaborately in the December 4 meeting of the SKM. We will chalk out the strategy of the movement in the meeting and announcement them accordingly,” said another farmer leader.
In a statement on Tuesday, the SKM clarified that its meeting to discuss the pending demands and to decide the future course of the farmers' movement will be held on December 4 instead of Wednesday.
The SKM, an umbrella body of over 40 farm unions, has been spearheading the farmers' movement against the three farm laws and their other demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that a committee would be formed to take decisions on the subjects of promoting zero budgeting-based agriculture, changing crop patterns as per the changing needs of the country, and making MSP more effective and transparent.
He announced this during his address to the nation in which he also stated that the government has decided to repeal the three farm laws, which were at the centre of protests by farmers for the past year.
The prime minister had said the committee will have representatives from the Central and state governments, farmers, agricultural scientists and agricultural economists.
On Monday, representatives of farmer unions of Punjab had said an emergency meeting of the SKM has been called on Wednesday to decide the future course of action.
The SKM, however, clarified, "All constituent organisations of SKM will take stock of the situation and decide the next steps of the farmers' struggle on December 4, as announced earlier. The date of this SKM meeting remains unchanged."
It said the meeting will take place at Singhu border points.
Various points raised in the letter to the prime minister earlier will be discussed and future decisions will be taken.
Farmer unions from Haryana will convene a meeting on Wednesday to discuss pending demands and other issues, the statement said.
Farmer leader and SKM member Abhimanyu Kohar said the meeting of the umbrella body will be convened on December 4 as farmers from different states will be present.
"No meeting of SKM is happening tomorrow (Wednesday). All the pending demands of farmers and the Central government's stand will be discussed elaborately in the December 4 meeting of SKM. We will chalk out the strategy of the movement in the meeting and announcement them accordingly," Kohar told PTI.
SKM has demanded that the Union government provide a concrete response to redress their pending demands.
"Vague statements (by government leaders) here and there as a response to the pending demands of protesting farmers are not an acceptable response or assurance from the BJP government. SKM seeks solid assurances on and concrete redressal of the pending demands," it said in the statement.
It claimed Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has indicated that he will act on the instructions of the Centre when it comes to withdrawal of cases "filed against around 48,000 farmers" in his state.
It also condemned the way the Objects and Reasons for the Farm Laws Repeal Bill were articulated by the Centre.
The SKM said the Electricity Amendments Bill, 2021, is listed for business in the ongoing Parliament session, is an "outright reneging" on the commitment made by the Centre to the delegation of farm unions in December last year.
"Similar is the case of penalising farmers for biomass burning in relation to Delhi's air pollution. SKM states that with such manifestations of unreliable behaviour, it is completely obvious why the farm unions will not trust the Government of India on any verbal assurances," SKM said in the statement.
It further said that SKM's demand for Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni's arrest and sacking from the central government is still pending.
(With PTI Inputs)