Government to Meet with Farmers in Chandigarh Today

Chandigarh, Feb 14 (NationPress) The government is set to convene a meeting with farmers protesting in Chandigarh this late afternoon to address their longstanding demands, which include a legal assurance on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

The farmers have been conducting a sit-in protest for over a year at Shambhu, the border area between Punjab and Haryana.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher informed the media at Shambhu, where a Mahapanchayat was organized on Thursday to commemorate one year of their protest, that they aim to persuade the government to meet the farmers' demands.

Another prominent farmer leader, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on an indefinite fast at the Khanauri border since November 26 of last year, will take part in discussions with senior officials from the Union government. Dallewal, who serves as the convener of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), will be transported by ambulance from Khanauri to Chandigarh for the meeting, having agreed to receive medical assistance after the Centre's invitation.

The meeting was originally scheduled for 5 p.m., but following farmers' requests, it will commence at 4 p.m. instead.

Under the banner of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political), the groups led by Dallewal's Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur) and Pandher's Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee (KMSC) have remained at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders since February 13 last year after security forces thwarted their attempt to march to Delhi to voice their demands.

On January 19, a delegation from the Union Agriculture Ministry, headed by joint secretary Priya Ranjan, met with farm leaders and extended an invitation to representatives from Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha to discuss their demands on February 14.

Last month, Pandher announced the delay of a planned foot march to Delhi by 101 farmers on January 21, urging the Central government to engage in dialogue regarding their demands promptly.

“It’s a request, not a condition,” stated the convener of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha to the media at Shambhu, encouraging the government to organize a meeting in Delhi before February 14 instead of in Chandigarh, as initially suggested. However, this meeting did not occur.

Previously, security forces deployed tear gas as farmers made three attempts to march toward Delhi at the Shambhu border.

Shambhu, located near Ambala on National Highway-1, has become a central point of the farmers’ protest for the past year. The previous 13-month-long agitation by farmers, primarily from Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, at Delhi borders concluded after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the government’s decision to repeal the three controversial farm laws during a televised address on November 19, 2021. Thousands of farmers had camped at the Delhi border, demanding the repeal of those laws as well as a legal guarantee on MSP for their crops.