Union Ministers Meet Farmer Leaders on MSP

New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai will hold a meeting with leaders of the protesting farmer groups on Wednesday evening to discuss their demands, including guaranteed minimum support price on crops, according to sources.

The meeting will be held through video conferencing, the sources said.

The three ministers' meeting with the protesting farmer groups' leaders also assume significance against the backdrop of Haryana Police using tear gas shells to stop farmers from Punjab at the Shambhu border between the two states.

A key demand of the farmers is guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) for various crops.

The ministerial delegation had held two rounds of discussion with the farmers' groups, including Samyuka Kisan Morcha (non-political), Kisan Mazdoor Morcha in Chandigarh, to resolve their concerns. However, as the talks remained inconclusive, farmers' groups started their 'Delhi Chalo' march on Tuesday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda held discussions on the ongoing farmers' protests and ways to address the issues, according to sources.

Singh, also a former agriculture minister, deliberated upon various farmer issues with Munda, the sources said.

On Wednesday, Haryana Police lobbed tear gas shells at farmers from Punjab at the Shambhu border. There was a similar standoff at Data Singhwala-Khanauri border in Haryana's Jind district.

On Tuesday, Munda, in an interview with PTI, said a law guaranteeing MSP cannot be brought in a hurry without consulting all stakeholders and urged farmer groups to have a structured discussion with the government on the issue.

"In the two rounds of discussions, we agreed to many of their demands. But there was no agreement on certain issues. The talks are still on," Munda had said.

He had also said the Centre has agreed to meet many of their demands that can be done at the administrative level.

A policy guaranteeing an MSP requires a holistic approach taking into consideration the views of all stakeholders, including the state governments, the minister had said.

In July 2022, the Centre had set up a panel on MSP to suggest ways for strengthening the MSP system. To date, it has held 37 meetings/workshops, and the panel is yet to finalise its report.

Besides a legal guarantee for MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations for farmer welfare, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, and debt waiver, among others.

The farmers are also seeking withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstating the Land Acquisition Act 2013, withdrawing from the World Trade Organization, and compensating families of farmers who died during the previous agitation.