Farmers protest: Fourth round of talks between union ministers, Punjab farmer leaders to be held today

Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai along with farmer leaders from Punjab are scheduled to meet today, 18 February, for the fourth round of talks. Previous meetings on 8, 12 and 15 February yielded no conclusive results.

The farmers, who began their march to Delhi on 13 February, have been stationed at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since being halted by security personnel.

Their demands include a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, and withdrawal of police cases.

The farmers are also pressing for the reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation for families impacted by the 2020-21 protests. 

Ahead of the upcoming round of talks, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher asked the Centre to issue an ordinance providing a legal guarantee for MSP.

"Entire country is looking towards PM Modi to gather up courage and take firm decision on MSP and loan interest waiver. We hope to  get good news from tomorrow's meeting. We haven't yet taken back our decision to go to Delhi, but if the central government accepts our demands, the matter will be solved here itself. The ball is in the government's court," Pandher said. 

Meanwhile, the Haryana government has extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts till 19 February. In addition, farmer protests continue across the state, including tractor marches and dharnas outside the residences of BJP leaders.

In Tamil Nadu, around 100 farmers were arrested at Thanjavur Railway station for attempting a 'rail roko' protest. Finally, traders at Ghazipur Mandi report possible increases in vegetable prices due to disruptions in supply chains caused by the ongoing protests.

However, some maintain that there has been no immediate impact on vegetable prices so far. If their demands are not met, BKU (Charuni) and BKU leader Rakesh Tikait has announced further dharnas in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand on 21 February to press for their demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP.

The farmers will also stage dharnas in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand on February 21.

Also Read: Farmers’ protest: Train operations hit as 200 farmers block rail tracks