Punjab knocks at Centre’s doors again, state agriculture minister asks Shivraj Singh Chouhan to talk to farmers

Protesting farmers turned up in large numbers at Khanauri border on Saturday. (Express photo by Kamaldeep Singh)

At a virtual pre-budget meeting of the Union minister with state agriculture ministers, Khuddian urged Chouhan to take a more active role. “I told the Union minister that he has been Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. And he knows that as CMs of states, they look up to the Centre to resolve some crises. I told him that the situation was turning worrisome and his urgent attention was the need of the hour,” Khuddian told The Indian Express after the meeting.

According to sources, Chouhan heard him out and said he would talk to him separately on this issue. After the meeting, Khuddian said he was hopeful the issue would be resolved, “Once I meet him, I will be able to press upon him to listen to the farmers grievances, which are related to the Centre,” he said.

In his December 20 letter, Khuddian had sought Chouhan’s intervention to initiate a dialogue with the farmers since the fulfilment of their demands was within the Centre’s remit. The letter was sent a day after the Supreme Court had pulled up the state for not running medical tests on Dallewal, who is on a fast-unto-death.

The Centre’s approach to the current farm protests appears markedly different from 2020-21 and early 2024, when Union ministers actively engaged in multiple rounds of talks with protesting farmers.

When questioned about the Punjab government’s submission to the Supreme Court, Chouhan offered a measured response on Wednesday. “We will take action as per the direction of the Supreme Court,” he had said.

The ongoing protests, led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, are over several demands, including a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops. The farmers, who have been camping on the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 2022, escalated their protests with a “Kisan Mahapanchayat” at Khanauri on Saturday.

The ongoing protests, led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, are over several demands, including a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops. (Express photo)

Dallewal, 70, has reportedly refrained from consuming food during his fast, surviving only on water, and has refused medical aid despite his deteriorating health.

During the meeting almost all states demanded higher allocation for horticulture schemes. Uttarakhand Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi urged the Centre to provide a financial assistance of Rs 500 crore to make arrangements for protection of crops from wild animals.

Khuddian also said he had raised several demands including a diversification plan, bonus for not setting stubble ablaze and a plan to prevent suicides of the farmers, that should be included in the union budget for agriculture. He demanded that there should be a budgetary provision of Rs 2,500 per acre for those farmers not setting paddy stubble ablaze. The smoke from paddy stubble is blamed for turning Delhi into a gas chamber every year. The state government has been seeking this amount for the farmers. However, the Centre has refused it in the past.

Chouhan informed the state ministers that the growth rate of the agriculture sector and allied sectors is expected to be between 3.5 percent and 4 percent, this year. He also sought the state governments’ suggestions to reduce the gap between the price paid by consumers and amount received by farmers for various agricultural produce, including fruits and vegetables.

“I want to discuss one more subject with you. We are also contemplating this issue. The farmer gets a lower price for his produce including vegetables, fruits and other produce, where he grows, but when it reaches in big cities, it becomes very costly for consumers. How can we reduce this difference? All of us should ponder on this,” Chouhan said in his opening remarks at the meeting.