"Protest To Continue From Feb 21 If Our Demands Aren't Met": Farmer Leader

Farmers protest:

Chandigarh (Punjab):

After the fourth round of talks, General Secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee Sarvan Singh Pandher asserted that the farmers will continue to move forward with the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on February 21 adding that the discussion will also be held on the proposal proposed by the government on MSP.

“We will have discussions on the proposal by the govt in the next two days…The govt will also deliberate on the other demands…We will continue with the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on Feb 21 if there is no result,” Mr Pandher said while addressing the media after the conclusion of the meeting between protesting farmer unions and Union Ministers in Chandigarh on Monday.

He further said that the government and farmers’ unions would try to find a solution to the issues.

“We will have a discussion on the proposal by the govt and take opinions on it…The decision will be taken by today morning, evening or the day after…The ministers said that they will have discussions on the other demands after returning to Delhi…The discussions will be held on Feb 19-20 and the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march scheduled for Feb 21 will be decided based on the discussions…Together (govt and the farmers’ union) we will try to find a solution to the issues,” he added.

Meanwhile, Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said that the government has given us a proposal, which will be supervised and managed by two government agencies.

“We will discuss the proposal by the government (on MSP) with our forums and experts and then, we will come to a conclusion…Our march (Delhi Chalo) will continue till the demands are met…Talks on several other demands need to be done,” Mr Dallewal told ANI.

Mr Dallewal further said that we had a detailed discussion on our (farmers’) demands during the fourth round of talks with the government.

“The government has given us a proposal, which guarantees MSP on pulses, maize and cotton, which will be supervised and managed by two government agencies,” says SKM (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal after the conclusion of the meeting between protesting farmer unions and Union Ministers in Chandigarh,” he added.

Earlier, Union Minister Piyush Goyal asserted that they had a very positive and extensive discussion with representatives of farmers adding that the farmer leaders will announce their decision on the government proposals by tomorrow.

“The government-promoted cooperative societies like NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) will form a contract for the next 5 years and buy products from the farmers on MSP. There will be no limit on the quantity,” he added.

The agitating farmers from Punjab have raised various demands including an ordinance on ensuring legal guarantees for MSPs and loan waivers.

The two sides — ministers and farmer leaders — had met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15 but talks remained inconclusive.

The meeting comes as thousands of farmers are camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri points of the Punjab-Haryana border with layers of barricades and a large number of security personnel halting their march to the national capital.

The non-political Samyukta Kisan Morcha and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have given a ‘Delhi Chalo’ call, urging the BJP-led Centre to accede to their demands. Commencing their march to the national capital on Tuesday, farmers from Punjab faced hindrance from security personnel at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points, situated between Punjab and Haryana.

The protesting farmers have been camping at the Shambhu border near Ambala since the start of the march on Tuesday, February 13. Talks between the union ministers and leaders of various farmers’ bodies remained inconclusive, with the fourth round of talks scheduled today.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)