The demand for a guarantee of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops continued to be a sticking point in the fifth round of talks between the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and the central government, which ended unsuccessfully on Friday in Chandigarh.
The three-hour meeting, led by Union Minister of Food and Supplies, Pralhad Joshi, saw the participation of about 24 farmer leaders, including Jagjeet Singh Dallewal, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike in Khannouri for 81 days, and Sarwan Singh Pandher. However, due to the absence of Agriculture Minister Shivraj Chouhan, several demands could not be discussed.
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The meeting also included Punjab government representatives such as Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudiyan, Food and Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchakk, Chief Secretary KAP Sinha, Agriculture Secretary Anurag Verma, Central Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi and Punjab’s Food and Supplies Department Principal Secretary Vikas Garg.
The next meeting will be held on February 22 in Delhi.
Union Minister Joshi stated that the central government has made provisions in this year's budget to buy three pulses at MSP. He emphasised the aim of making India self-reliant in pulses and oilseeds. In response, Sarwan Singh Pandher remarked that the government should have no objection to providing MSP if that is the case.
After the meeting, Joshi told the media that it had been conducted in a cordial atmosphere. On the other hand, SKM leader Sarwan Singh Pandher pointed out that the central government claims to have bought farmers' crops at MSP over the past ten years, but he argued that from 2004 to 2014, crop prices had increased by up to 100 per cent, while during the Modi government's tenure, prices only rose by 57 per cent, whereas inflation had increased by 59 per cent.
Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohad suggested that the central government should implement the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, which recommends creating a law to guarantee MSP. He said that the MSP for all crops could be implemented with just Rs 2.5 lakh crore.
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Jagjeet Singh Dallewal, who had been on a hunger strike in Khannouri, travelled to Chandigarh in an ambulance to attend the meeting. This was the first time Dallewal left the protest site.