The farmers' protest in India continues with demonstrators set to meet central ministers for a fourth round of talks on Sunday (Feb 18) evening. The protests have been going on for five days and farmer unions have vowed to intensify the agitation. The talks have been focused on three areas- farm loan waiver, legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) policy, and the use of a comprehensive cost formula to arrive at it.
The farmers and trade unions observed a Bharat Bandh (nationwide strike) on Friday, a day after the third round of talks ended. On Friday, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said, "We will surely reach a conclusion if we will carry forward the talks peacefully. I am hopeful that we will soon find a solution."
Union Agriculture Minister Munda asserted that while making the final decision, the Centre has to keep in mind all the aspects of it. "The decision cannot be taken in such a way that people criticise the situation without thinking and understanding in the coming days," he added.
Farmers demand financial aid for those injured
Farmers have alleged that around 400 protesters have been injured by clashes triggered at the Punjab-Haryana borders amid continuous tear gas shelling by riot police, the news agency Reuters reported late Saturday.
The farmers placed two demands for those injured- job security and financial aid to help the wounded protesters. The current protests started as part of the "Dilli Chalo" (Let's go to New Delhi) march earlier this week to press the government to set a minimum price for their produce.
However, the protesters were stopped around 200 kilometres from the national capital, triggering clashes.
Elderly farmer and Haryana cop die
Two people have died in the ongoing protests. A 63-year-old protester from Punjab, who was at the Shambu border, died after suffering a heart attack. Officials told the news agency PTI that Gian Singh complained of chest pain in the morning and was taken to the Civil Hospital in Punjab’s Rajpura. From there, he was rushed to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, where doctors declared him brought dead, they added. The second victim was a Government Railway Police (GRP) official who also died of a heart attack.
Meanwhile, farmer leaders addressed a press conference at the Shambu border on Saturday where they said that the Centre announced MSP for 23 crops but was only purchasing 2-3 crops. "We want to end the loot by corporates (in buying crops) as the first step," farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said.
"I believe that if the government seriously focusses on the consumer and producer and focusses a bit less on the corporates, then this whole issue can be sorted," farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said.