Centre to hold talks again with farmers in Chandigarh today

A team of three Union ministers will hold a meeting again with the farmer leaders over their various demands on Thursday evening, 15 February, said farm leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal.

The Centre invited the farmer leaders for holding third round of talks in a week after two such meetings organised on 8 and 12 February remained inconclusive.

The offer for talks came when protesting farmers were staying put at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders of Punjab and Haryana to march towards Delhi to press the Centre to accept their demands, including a law on minimum support price for crops and loan waivers.

The farmer leaders said they will not make any fresh attempt to move towards Delhi till the meeting is held, asserting that the next course of action will be decided on the basis of the Centre's proposals.

Addressing the media, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leader Dallewal said the meeting will be held at 5 pm on Thursday.

Another farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said the meeting will be held with Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai.

Asked whether farmers will not march ahead till the meeting is held, Pandher said, "Yes."

"Let's see what comes out in tomorrow's meeting. Whatever proposals come to us (from the Centre), we will discuss in our forums and then will see (the next course of action)," said Pandher.

Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Pandher said they received a message for talks on Tuesday night.

"Thereafter, we made up our mind to hold talks," he said while adding that they took consent from fellow protesting farmers for holding talks if the Centre wants it.

However, Pandher slammed the Centre for allegedly firing tear gas shells continuously on farmers at the Shambhu border, leaving many protesters injured.

Referring to tear gas shelling on farmers, Pandher said the Centre tried to "provoke" farmers, and also accused it of deliberately using force on them.

The farm leader claimed that he was targeted and his phone was being tracked.

Pandher appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the paramilitary forces, deployed at the Punjab-Haryana borders, for not using tear gas on them.

He also claimed that social media accounts of several farmer leaders have been suspended.

When asked if there was any meeting on Wednesday, farmer leader Surjit Singh Phool said there was no meeting with any minister.

"The meeting will be held with Union ministers on Thursday. A letter in this regard has come," said Phool.

He said Punjab government officials held a meeting with farmer leaders to know how many of them will attend the meeting with the Union ministers.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation to put pressure on the Centre for their demands.