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Meanwhile, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal today said the protesting farmers camping at the border points between Punjab and Haryana will peacefully march towards Delhi | (PTI Photo)
The fresh offer came even as thousands of farmers gathered at the Haryana and Punjab borders to march towards Delhi to press for their various demands, prime among them being the legal guarantee for MSP.
“After four rounds of talks, the government is ready for the fifth round of discussions on all issues like MSP, diversification of crops, stubble burning and pending cases. I invite all the farmer leaders for another round of talks. We need to maintain peace,” Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said in a statement.
Meanwhile, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal today said the protesting farmers camping at the border points between Punjab and Haryana will peacefully march towards Delhi.
“Our intention is not to disturb peace,” he said, ahead of the farmers’ planned march towards the national capital.
Accusing the BJP-led Centre of indulging in “delaying tactics” over the farmers’ demands, Dallewal asked the government to decide in their favour.
He also condemned the Centre for setting up multi-layered barricades at the border points between Punjab and Haryana to prevent the farmers from heading towards Delhi.
“It is our request that we want to go to Delhi in a peaceful manner. The government should remove the barricades and give us the permission to march towards Delhi and make arrangements for our sitting in Delhi,” Dallewal told reporters at the Shambhu border point.
He criticised the government for not making a statement on enacting a law on the MSP for crops.
Dallewal said farmers will start marching towards Delhi at 11 am.
Asked whether the farmers will use excavators or JCB machines to force their way to Delhi, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “We will not use machines.” If excavators are brought, “we will stop them”, he added.
When told that Punjab and Haryana High Court have said tractor-trolleys cannot ply on highways, Pandher said tractor-trolleys are taken to fairs and rallies as well.
Those can be used for peaceful agitation, he said.
Replying to a question, Dallewal said farmers have not received any fresh invites for talks.
Pandher said they had requested the Centre with folded hands to resolve the farmers’ demands.
“Discussions took place on each demand and now is the time for taking decisions,” he said while referring to the farmers’ four rounds of talks with a panel of three Union ministers.
“If the Centre comes forward and says it is ready to enact a law on the MSP, then things can move,” Pandher said. “We should be allowed to march towards Delhi for holding a peaceful protest,” he added.
Dallewal asked the protesting farmers to remain peaceful and not indulge in violence.
The farmers protesting at the two border points between Punjab and Haryana will resume their “Delhi Chalo” march today after they rejected the Centre’s proposal for procuring pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP by government agencies for five years.
Thousands of farmers, who began their march to Delhi on February 13, were stopped at the Punjab-Haryana border, where they clashed with security personnel. The farmers have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the “Delhi Chalo” march to press the Centre to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee on the MSP for crops and farm loan waiver.
First Published: Feb 21 2024 | 12:12 PM IST
