Farmers' Crucial Meet With Centre Today Amid MSP Ordinance Push

The farmers protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border and the government are set to hold a fourth round of talks on Sunday to break the deadlock over their demands that include a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Farmer leaders will meet Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal, and Nityanand Rai at 6 pm in Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. Three earlier rounds of talks held earlier this month resulted in agreements over various other issues, but three key ones are yet to be resolved.

Ahead of the crucial meeting, a farmer leader said the government must avoid "dilly-dallying" on the issue and find a solution. "The government should find a solution to our demands before the election code of conduct comes into force," farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said this afternoon. 

Yesterday, the farmer leaders had asked the government to bring an ordinance on giving a legal guarantee for MSP, expressing hope that they would get "good news" after Sunday's meeting.

Besides a law on MSP, the farmers marching to Delhi are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, loan waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, and withdrawal of police cases.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait has also announced protests in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttarakhand on Wednesday to press their demands. The BKU is among the organizations that were part of the 13-month-long farmers' protest in 2020-21. But it's not participating in the Delhi Chalo march this time.

In the last meeting three days ago, the farmers had agreed to maintain peace and hold further talks on Sunday. There has been no report of any confrontation between the farmers and security personnel since then.

The farmers began their march to Delhi last Tuesday with trollies loaded with ration, which they claimed would last for months and help them continue their protest until their demands are met. They are now camping at Shambhu and Khanauri borders between the two states where layers of barricades have been erected to stop them.

Delhi has also been fortified with Ghazipur, Singhu, and other border points partially sealed. Concrete blocks and nails are placed on roads to stop their tractors and trollies from crossing over.