Third round talks between Union government and farmers underway

Protesting farmers from Punjab camp near Haryana boundaries as farmer representatives meet Union Ministers amid stand-off.

Protesting farmers from Punjab continued to camp at different locations on the inter-State boundaries with Haryana on Thursday, even as the meeting between farmer representatives and Union Ministers was underway amid the ongoing stand-off between farmers and the Union government.

The Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) — the two umbrella bodies of around 200 farmer and farm labourer unions — had given the call for the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march as they planned to lay siege to the national capital to press for the fulfilment of their demands.

Union Ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and farmer leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher, among others, attended the meeting that commenced here late in the evening on Thursday.

Ahead of the meeting, in which deliberations over the farmers’ demands, including legal guarantee for minimum support prices (MSP) are being discussed, farmers asserted that the meeting would be fruitful only if the government came out with something “positive” to offer. After the first two meetings remained inconclusive, this is the third meeting between farmers’ leaders and the Centre.

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On their third day of protest, farmers continued to camp in huge numbers at other inter-State boundaries in Haryana, including Shambu-Ambala and Khanauri-Jind. There were no reports of clashes between the police and farmers.

Addressing a press conference at the Shambhu border, Sarwan Singh Pandher showed tear gas shells, alleging paramilitary personnel deputed by Haryana were using force against the farmers, injuring many of them. Mr. Pandher said “smoke cell air bursts and smoke cell ground bursts” were being used against farmers.