Farmers hold ground at Punjab-Haryana border as talks with govt resume today

The Union government will hold the third round of meeting with agitating farmers in Chandigarh on Thursday, with reports suggesting that the protestors will not force their way through barricades at various border points.

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda and two other Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai will meet representatives of the protesting farmers in Chandigarh at 5 pm Thursday. It will be the third round of meetings between the farmer leaders and the Centre in Chandigarh after farm organisations announced their plan to march to Delhi. The two earlier meetings, held before the march began, remained inconclusive.

As the protest and showdown of farmers with the police authorities at Punjab-Haryana border continued on the second day on Wednesday, in the national Capital senior Union ministers, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Arjun Munda, held discussions on the ongoing farmers’ protests and ways to address the issues.

Farmers from Punjab began their march towards Delhi and at Shambhu border Haryana Police used tear gas shells to stop them at the barricades. For the first time, tear gas shells were also fired from drones to stop the farmers and disperse them.

The farmer leader Pandher alleged that even though farmers held a peaceful protest on Wednesday, drones were used and tear gas shells and rubber pellets were fired at them. “It wasn’t the police, but paramilitary forces that were attacking us. Despite all this, we are ready to speak to the Union government,’’ he said.

Earlier in the day Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda called for a dialogue and urged the farmers not to do anything that inconveniences common people. Two rounds of talks between the delegation of ministers and the farmer leaders have so far proved inconclusive.

Thousands of farmers, who are seeking a guaranteed minimum support price (MSP) among other demands, started their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on Tuesday. There was a similar standoff at Data Singhwala-Khanauri border in Haryana’s Jind district, with Haryana Police barricades stopping farmers from travelling to Delhi on their tractor-trolleys.

Meanwhile, Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) announced that farmers would squat on rail tracks at seven places in Punjab on Thursday in protest against the Haryana Police action against protesting farmers at the borders. BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said their agitation will be held from 12 noon to 4 pm.