New Delhi: Following a “positive meeting” last week, the Centre will hold another round of discussions with protesting farmers in Chandigarh on Saturday evening. The talks will focus on several key demands, including a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP) on crops and Jagjit Singh Dallewal who has been on a fast until death.
Farmers had initially requested that the meeting take place in Delhi, but the Centre scheduled it at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Public Administration in Chandigarh.
A formal invitation was sent to farmer leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher by Purna Chandra Kishan, joint secretary of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Dated February 19, the letter stated: “This is in continuation of the previous meeting with the leaders of SKM (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), which was held on February 14 in Chandigarh.
In this regard, a meeting with ministers from the Government of India and the Government of Punjab has been scheduled for February 22 at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Public Administration in Chandigarh. You are cordially invited to attend,” the letter, written in Hindi, added.
Farmers on protest
The central government and protesting farmers have held multiple rounds of discussions over key demands, including a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP) on crops, debt waivers, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, the withdrawal of police cases, and justice for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
Before the February 14 meeting, four rounds of talks between union ministers and farmers took place in February 2024, but they remained inconclusive.
On February 14, a central team led by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi met with farmers’ representatives in Chandigarh, with both sides describing the discussions as cordial. Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal called it a “positive meeting” and confirmed that Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, along with two other ministers, would attend the next round of talks on February 22.
Purna Chandra Kishan, joint secretary of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, sent an official invitation to farmer leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher for the upcoming meeting.
Dated February 19, the letter stated: “This is in continuation of the previous meeting with the leaders of SKM (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), which was held on February 14 in Chandigarh.”
