Govt-Farmers Meeting Ends 'Inconclusive'; Next Round of Talks on Feb 18

As the third meeting between Union Ministers and the farmer leaders ended in a stalemate, with no common ground in sight, the next round of the talks will take place on Sunday.

Chandigarh: Amid a stand-off between protesting farmers and security personnel at two points on the Punjab-Haryana border, a marathon meeting of three Union ministers and representatives of protesting farmer unions ended without a resolution here on Thursday, with Union minister Arjun Munda saying that the discussions were "positive" and that another round of talks will take place on Sunday.

The farmer leaders said they will continue to stay put at the two border points between Punjab and Haryana. Union Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Munda, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai represented the Centre at the meeting over the farmer unions' various demands, including a law guaranteeing a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Addressing the media after the 5-hour-long meeting, Munda said the talks took place in a good atmosphere and there was positive discussion. The talks will continue and another meeting will take place at 6 pm on Sunday, he said, adding that a solution will be found by sitting together.

Bhagwant Mann, Chief Minister of Punjab also attended the meeting. The meeting was held at Mahatma Gandhi state institute of public administration, Sector 26, in New Delhi. The session began at approximately 8.45 am on Thursday and concluded at around 5 pm. Mann said a detailed discussion between farmer leaders and the government took place. "On each topic, a detailed discussion took place and a consensus was reached on several issues," he said.

He said that he also brought to the attention of the Union ministers the use of a drone by Haryana Police to tear gas shells on the protesters inside Punjab. He said he got an assurance from the Centre that it would speak to the Haryana government and ask it to maintain peace at the Punjab and Haryana borders.

Among the farmer leaders who took part in the meeting were SKM (Non-Political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher. Pandher told reporters that they discussed their demands in detail, including the legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) and debt waiver.

Expressing concern about the current environment, including the suspension of social media accounts and teargas shelling, Pandher said, "We said we are not Pakistan. We want that there should be a positive result and any confrontation should be avoided. Otherwise, our plan to march to Delhi will go ahead."

The farmer leaders also took an exception to the alleged suspension of the social media accounts of several leaders. They (ministers) have assured that all such social media accounts will be restored, said farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal.

This was the third round of talks between the two sides. The two previous rounds of dialogue on February 8 and 12 remained inconclusive. The discussions will continue and another round of talks will be held at 6 pm on Sunday. (With PTI Inputs)

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