CHANDIGARH: Following the fourth meeting between representatives of protesting farmers and the Central government in Delhi on Sunday, the farmers’ leaders on Monday assrted that they will discuss the government’s proposal with domain experts and take a decision even as the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march is on standby for now. They added that the march would peacefully restart on February 21.
“We will discuss the proposals offered by the government with agriculture and legal experts besides farmers, and then take a call on it, and convey our decision to the Centre. As far as our Delhi march is concerned, we have put it on standby for now. On February 21, however, we will peacefully start our march. We will try that before we put our points before the government and discuss some remaining issues,” said farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher.
Talking to reporters at the Shambhu border point, Pandher said farmers will hold a discussion on the proposal given by the Centre.
Farmers have not backed out of their demand for a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) and never will, he said while replying to a question.
Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai had held the fourth round of talks with the farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Sunday.
Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, farmers are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.
Talking to the media after the meeting, Union Minister Goyal had said, "Cooperative societies like the NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) will enter into a contract with those farmers who grow 'tur dal', 'urad dal', 'masoor dal' or maize for buying their crop at MSP for next five years."
"There will be no limit on the quantity (purchased) and a portal will be developed for this," he had added.
Goyal has also proposed that the Cotton Corporation of India will buy cotton from farmers at MSP for five years after entering into a legal agreement with them.
Goyal had also underlined that the other demands of the farmers were "deep and policy-driven" and it was not possible to find a resolution without an in-depth discussion.
"Elections are coming and a new government will be formed. Discussions on such issues will continue," he had said.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who was part of the meeting, batted for a legal guarantee for MSP for crops to safeguard the interests of farmers.
The farmers from Punjab began their march to Delhi on Tuesday but were stopped by security personnel at Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjab's border with Haryana as they pressed the Centre to accept their demands.
