Meeting between Union ministers, farmer leaders ends, says Munda

A marathon meeting between three Union ministers and leaders of protesting farmer unions concluded without a resolution here late Thursday with Union Minister Arjun Munda asserting that the discussion was positive and another round of talks would be held on Sunday The farmer leaders said they will continue to stay put at the two border points between Punjab and HaryanaUnion Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Munda Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai represented the Centre at the meeting over the farmer unions various demands including a law guaranteeing a minimum support price MSP for cropsPunjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 The meeting started at around 845 pm on Thursday and lasted for around five hours Speaking to reporters after the meeting Munda said the talks took place in a good atmosphere and there was positive discussionThe talks will continue and another meeting will take place at 6 pm on Sunday he said adding that a solution will be found by sitting together Mann said a detailed discussion between farmer leaders and the government took place On each topic a detailed discussion took place and a consensus was reached on several issues he saidThis was the third round of talks between the two sides The two previous rounds of dialogue on February 8 and 12 remained inconclusive Mann said he raised the issue of suspension of internet services at select areas in Sangrur Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib with the Centre He said that he also brought to the attention of the Union ministers the use of a drone by Haryana Police to tear gas shells on the protesters inside PunjabHe said he got an assurance from the Centre that it would speak to the Haryana government and ask it to maintain peace at the Punjab and Haryana borders Among the farmer leaders who took part in the meeting were SKM NonPolitical leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh PandherSpeaking to reporters Pandher said a detailed discussion on their demands including a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price and debt waiver took place They Union ministers said they need time said Pandher We want that there should be a positive result and any confrontation should be avoided Otherwise our plan to march to Delhi will go ahead he addedTo a question on whether farmers will stay put at the PunjabHaryana borders Pandher said Yes The farmer leaders also took an exception to the alleged suspension of the social media accounts of several leaders They ministers have assured that all such social media accounts will be restored said farmer leader Jagjit Singh DallewalPandher said they also raised the issue of tear gas shelling by the paramilitary force on farmers at the Shambhu and Khanuri borders He said the shells were shown to the ministers during the meeting The Samyukta Kisan Morcha NonPolitical and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have given a Delhi Chalo call to press the BJPled Centre to accept their demandsFarmers from Punjab began their march to the national capital on Tuesday but were stopped by security personnel at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana The protesting farmers have been camping at the border points Earlier the farmer leaders had said they would not make any fresh attempt to move towards Delhi till the meeting with the ministers was held asserting that the next course of action would be decided based on the Centres proposalsSeparately farmers squatted on railway tracks at many places in Punjab over the Haryana Polices action against the Delhi Chalo protesters The Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan and the BKU Dakaunda Dhaner gave the rail roko call The decision was taken in protest against the use of teargas shells and water cannons against the protesting farmers by the Haryana security personnel at the Shambhu and Khanauri border pointsMeanwhile on the call of the SKM farmers also staged demonstrations at several toll plazas in Punjab to protest against the Haryana Polices action They also forced the toll authorities to let go of commuters without charging them a toll fee On Tuesday farmers mainly from Punjab had clashed with the Haryana Police at two border points between the states facing tear gas and water cannons as they tried to break the barricades blocking their march to the national capitalBesides a legal guarantee on MSP the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commissions recommendations pension for farmers and farm labourers farm debt waiver withdrawal of police cases and justice for the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act 2013 and compensation for the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 202021This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no 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