Centre to continue dialogue with farmers despite clearance of road blockades

NEW DELHI: Indicating that it will continue to engage with farmers, the Centre said its scheduled next round of talks on May 4 will be held despite detention of farm leaders and clearance of blockades at Shambhu and Khanauri borders.
“It is learned that the detention of top farmer leaders by Punjab police is just temporary. They will be released soon under the due process of law and be available for talks on May 4,” said an official.
Punjab Police on Wednesday night detained many protesting farmers from both the borders. The detained farmer leaders include the key figures representing farmers during the talks such as Jagjit Singh Dallewal of SKM (non-political) and Sarwan Singh Pandher of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC).
Centre will, meanwhile, separately consult experts and stakeholders on the financial aspect of the farmers’ demand of legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) and its economic viability before getting back to them with other possible mechanisms to ensure procurement of all MSP- linked crops in all states/ UTs.
“Joint secretary-level officials from agriculture and food & public distribution ministries will talk to experts and cross-check the farmers’ representatives’ data/argument where they during the talks on Wednesday claimed that the legal guarantee to MSP will not cost the govt much,” said the official.
Farmer leaders during the talks with central ministers — Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Parlhad Joshi and Piyush Goyal — argued that the govt will have to chip in with procurement only for those crops whose market price is figured lower than the MSP.
Farmer leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) that spearheaded the year-long protest during 2020-21 for repeal of the three contentious farm laws will, in the meantime, work for the unity of different farm groups including SKM (non-political) and KMSC on one joint platform so that they can become a bigger pressure group for getting their demands fulfilled. The SKM is currently not part of the talks with the Centre.
Since only SKM (non-political) and KMSC had been on protests blocking roads at Shambhu and Khanauri borders, the Centre was engaged with representatives of only these groups during the talks. So far, seven rounds of talks had been held with these groups since February last year.