Talks with farmers today, Centre going with an open mind: Agriculture Minister

Munda, along with Union Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State Nityanand Rai, will hold the second round of talks with the protesting farmers in Chandigarh Monday.

“There may be differences between the government’s thinking and farmers’ demands but we will sit and find a solution with care and patience. We are ready to talk with khule mann (an open mind) to allay any misunderstanding,” Munda said.

“Kitna hum kar sakte hain, kitna kisanon ke hit mein rahega, donon ko milkar hi samadhan nikalna hai (How much can we do, and what will be in the interest of farmers, a solution has to be found by sitting together),” he said.

“We are always ready to talk with an open mind,” he said.

One of the key demands of the farmers is a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP).

The Centre has announced MSP for 22 mandated crops on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP).

On July 18, 2022, the Centre had formed a committee to deliberate on several issues including making the MSP more “effective and transparent”.

The committee was formed in the wake of the November 2021 announcement by the Prime Minister on his government’s intention to withdraw three farm laws — Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 — following a protest by farm unions. The unions were also demanding a legal guarantee of MSP based on the Swaminathan Commission’s C2+50% Formula.

The committee, headed by former Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agrawal, held six “main” meetings and 31 sub-group meetings/workshops. It is yet to submit its report.

On Sunday, Sarwan Singh Pandher, coordinator of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, said farmers affiliated to the KMM and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) will set out from different parts of Punjab and gather at Fatehgarh Sahib by Monday afternoon.

Any decision to march ahead, he said, will be taken following the outcome of the talks. “Tractors in thousands will march from Punjab’s different parts and reach midway by Monday afternoon itself… Farmers will sleep overnight in their tractors by the roadside and will march towards Delhi as per the outcome of the talks,” Pandher said.

Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal have been invited to the second round of talks with Central ministers Monday at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA), Chandigarh. Dallewal, speaking to The Indian Express, said, “A total of 26 people will go to this meeting, 13 each from SKM (non-political) and KMM.”

Targeting the Haryana government, Dallewal said, “The Khattar government is instigating farmers by sealing the state’s borders with Punjab… if any untoward incident happens, the Haryana government will be responsible for it… On the one hand, the Union government is coming from Delhi to Chandigarh for talks and, on the other hand, Haryana is showing farmers in a bad light.”