Chandigarh: The much-awaited meeting between farmer leaders and a government delegation led by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi ended on a positive note on Friday. The next round of talks is scheduled for February 22 and will be attended by Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on a hunger strike for 81 days, said after the meeting, “Today’s meeting ended without any final decision. The next round of talks will take place on February 22 at a venue that will be announced soon. But the protest to continue as it is”.
Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi told reporters that the meeting was positive and all farmer-related issues were discussed. “We listened to the farmers for over two-and-a-half hours. The next meeting will be held under the leadership of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan,” Joshi added.
Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, who also attended the meeting, said, “The minister gave a patient hearing to the farmers. It was commendable that Dallewal attended the meeting despite the personal tragedy of losing his granddaughter.”
The farmers announced that their protest at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders will continue until their demands are met. Their primary demand is a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops. The union minister urged Dallewal to end his hunger strike immediately, but Dallewal refused, saying he would only end the strike after a concrete assurance from the government.
Jagjit Dallewal from Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Sarwan Pandher from Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are leading the farmers’ delegation. Dallewal arrived at the meeting in an ambulance and was brought to the conference hall on a stretcher.
Farmer leaders Abhimanyu Kohar and Sarvan Singh Pandher said that they have raised all the issues with the facts and documents but the farmer leaders have demanded the union minister to fix the venue of the next meeting at Delhi. They said that the hunger strike and agitation of the farmers will continue as it is until their demands are accepted. The farmer leaders said that the focus of the discussion in two and half hours meeting was MSP Guarantee Act.
The last round of talks in February last year failed after farmers rejected the government’s offer to purchase five cropsarhar, cotton, maize, lentils, and black gram at MSP for five years. The farmers have been demanding a comprehensive law that guarantees MSP for all crops.
Since February 13, hundreds of farmers have been protesting at the Shambhu border along NH-44, one of India’s busiest highways. The ongoing protest has caused severe disruption to daily life and business in the region. Farmer leader Sarvan Pandher warned that if no solution is reached on February 22, the farmers will march to Delhi.
