'Delhi Chalo' protest: Union ministers, farm leaders to hold fourth round of talks

Chandigarh, Feb 18 (PTI) The Centre should not dilly-dally and accept the demands of farmers before the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha elections comes into force, farm leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said ahead of a meeting with a panel of Union ministers on Sunday.

A panel of Union ministers will hold a fresh round of talks with farm leaders on Sunday over their demands, including giving a legal guarantee to Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.

The meeting comes at a time when 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 Delhi.

Farm leaders, including those from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha that had called for the "Delhi Chalo" march, will meet Union Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in Chandigarh -- the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.

The two sides had also met on February 8, 12 and 15 but the talks remained inconclusive.

Ahead of the meeting, Dallewal told reporters at the Shambhu border point, "We want to tell the government that it should avoid the policy of dilly-dallying." If the government thinks it will continue to hold meetings till the model code is imposed, and then say it cannot do anything as the code is in force … the farmers are not going to return, he said.

"The government should find a solution to our demands before the Model Code of Conduct comes into force," Dallewal said.

The agitation, he clarified, has not been sponsored by any political party and reiterated the demand for an ordinance on giving legal guarantee to Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations and farm debt waiver.

"The government can still call a session again if its intention is clean," he said, referring to a session in Parliament over the issues.

In Haryana's Kurukshetra, a panchayat was held on Sunday in which Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni and some Khaps took part to chalk out a course of action to support the protesting farmers from Punjab.

Charuni told reporters after the meeting that it was decided to unite all farmers' organisations to hold a united protest in support of the agitation.

Several other decisions have been put on hold for the time being due to the scheduled talks. The decisions will be announced once the outcome of the talks is known, he added.

Charuni said a good chunk of the rural belt in Kurukshetra is part of the National Capital Region and a four-member committee has been formed to connect with farmers from Delhi.

Khap leader OP Dhankar said Haryana Khaps are behind the agitation and added that the central government should not delay giving a legal guarantee to MSP.

Another Khap leader who attended the meeting said farmers will reach Delhi and protest if the talks fail.

Charuni said it is surprising that the government is not allowing the farmers to travel to Delhi on their tractors.

It is a farmer's vehicle and they need to carry eatables and other ration for the agitation on the tractors, he said.

Meanwhile, the suspension of Internet services has been extended in certain areas of some Punjab districts, including Patiala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib, till February 24 on the orders of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Earlier, Internet services were suspended from February 12 to 16 in view of the farmers' "Delhi Chalo" march.

The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) continued to hold protests at toll plazas in Punjab for the second consecutive day, forcing the toll authorities not to charge commuters.

At the Ladhowal plaza in Ludhiana, farmers shouted slogans against the Centre and the Haryana government.

On Saturday, farm leader Sarwan Singh Pandher had said the entire country is looking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the demands and expressed hope that the farmers will get "good news" after Sunday's meeting.

"Now the ball is in the government's court," he had said and added that the Centre has a right to take "political" decisions.

The Haryana government on Saturday extended the ban on mobile Internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts till February 19.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the "Delhi Chalo" agitation to put pressure on the Centre for their demands, including a law on MSP for crops and loan waivers.

The farmers from Punjab began their march to Delhi on Tuesday but were stopped by security personnel at the Shambhu and the Khanauri points on Punjab's border with Haryana. The protesters have stayed put at the two border points since then.

Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the protesting farmers are demanding 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 the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21. PTI