Six farmer members likely in govt-appointed panel to look into demands

The Centre on Wednesday said it was willing to set up a committee to discuss the demands of farm unions, offering to include as many as six of their representatives in it, a change in stance from the three members it had suggested earlier.

It urged farm unions to approach the discussion constructively and not inconvenience common people.

The Centre’s earlier proposal to set up a committee with three representatives was rejected by the unions.

The third round of negotiations between Union ministers and farm leaders is scheduled for Thursday evening.

On the second day of their ‘Delhi chalo’ protest march, the farmers remained at the Punjab-Haryana border. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued an advisory to request students to start early for their examination centres.

Government sources said Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Arjun Munda invited farm leaders for a video-conference on Wednesday evening, which the latter turned down.

Later, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher said in Chandigarh that the third round of negotiations will take place on Thursday evening with Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai. The first two rounds of discussions were inconclusive.

According to sources, Union Agriculture Minister Munda conveyed to farm leaders that the government was committed to resolving their demands, especially those of “administrative nature” at the earliest. However, a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) needed thorough consultations to consider the interests of all stakeholders.

Munda, sources said, also revived an earlier offer to constitute a committee to discuss their demands, comprising six representatives of farm unions.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation to put pressure on the Centre to fulfil their demands. These include a law on MSP for crops, loan waivers and withdrawal of cases filed against protesting farmers during the 2020-21 agitation. Farm unions are also preparing to ensure the success of their call for a “Grameen Bandh” on February 16.

The farmers remained at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana, 200 km from Delhi. The Haryana Police lobbed tear gas shells at the protestors in an effort to dissuade them from crossing the border.

There was a similar standoff at Data Singhwala-Khanauri border in Haryana's Jind district, with police barricades stopping farmers from travelling to Delhi on their tractor-trolleys.

The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) announced that farmers would squat on rail tracks at seven places in Punjab on Thursday in protest against the Haryana Police action on protesting farmers at the borders.

BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said their agitation will be held from 12 noon to 4 pm. The BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), which is a member of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, is not part of the 'Delhi Chalo' call. Ugrahan said they were also against preventing farmers from heading towards Delhi as part of their 'Delhi Chalo' call by sealing the borders.

The Congress accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of betraying the cause of farmers, pointing to the promises that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made, including when he was the Gujarat chief minister. The Congress leadership has promised a law guaranteeing MSP if it were to form the government at the Centre. In its riposte, the BJP said that in 2010, it (Congress) had rejected Swaminathan Commission recommendations for remunerative prices.

The BJP cited that Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas, in his written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on April 16, 2010, stated that the government did not accept the Swaminathan Commission's recommendation that MSP should be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday condemned the government action against farmers at the Shambhu border near Haryana's Ambala.

He expressed solidarity with the Grameen Bandh called on February 16.