On Thursday, a committee of three central ministers will hold a third round of talks with farmer leaders in Chandigarh amidst ongoing tensions between protesters and security forces at the Punjab-Haryana border. The first two rounds of discussions were unsuccessful. There are doubts about whether any resolution will emerge from this round of talks, especially with demands from farmers for dialogue with Prime Minister Modi.
Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Arjun Munda, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, will meet with farmer leaders here at 5 p.m. to discuss various demands, including a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops.
This will be the third round of talks between the two sides. The first two rounds of discussions, which took place on the 8th and 12th of February, remained inconclusive.
The Indian Farmers‘ Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and BKU Dakonda (Dhaner) have called for a ‘rail roko’ (rail blockade) in Punjab today. Farmers will sit on railway tracks at seven locations from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. In response to security forces in Haryana firing tear gas shells and using water cannons against protesting farmers at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, this decision has been made to protest these actions.
The United Farmers’ Front (non-political) and the Farmers‘ Labor Front are leading the “Delhi Chalo” march to put pressure on the central government to enact laws guaranteeing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops and fulfilling their demands, including debt waivers.
Near the Ambala-Shambhu border, there has been tension between security forces and protesters for the past two days. Tear gas shells have been continuously fired, and protesters have also pelted stones at security personnel. Similar tensions are also ongoing at the Datta Singhwala-Khanauri border in the Jind district of Haryana.