Protesting farmers-Centre hold ‘positive’ meeting, plan to meet again on February 22

Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike at the Khanauri border since November 26, speaks with the media, in Sangrur district, Punjab, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

While farmers kept up their protests in Punjab, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and farmer leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher among others met on Friday (February 14, 2025) in Chandigarh to deliberate on their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) on crops.

Mr. Joshi and Mr. Dallewal, who has been on a hunger strike for the past 81 days, said that the meeting was held in a “positive atmosphere”. Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian was also present for the discussion.

“We held discussions with representatives of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha [KMM] and Samyukta Kisan Morcha [Non-Political] in a congenial atmosphere. The farmers raised their concerns. We listened to their demands and issues patiently. We conveyed them the steps taken by the Government of India in the interest of farmers. Now, the date for next meeting has been fixed for February 22 in which Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Chauhan will also participate. Farmers have also agreed to it,” Mr. Joshi told media persons.

On his part, Mr. Dallewal said, “The Minister listened to us carefully and he conveyed his positiveness. The meeting was held in a positive atmosphere and we will be meeting again on February 22.”

This “positive” development comes after four rounds of meetings remained inconclusive last year. Then, the Centre had offered to procure five crops on MSP for five years based on contracts but the farmers turned it down.

Farmers have been demanding a legal guarantee for purchasing their crops at MSP and farm loan waivers, among other demands. Groups of farmers under the banner of the KMM and SKM (Non-Political) — the two umbrella bodies spearheading the agitation in Punjab — have been camping at Shambhu-Ambala and Khanauri-Jind (the inter-State boundaries between Haryana and Punjab) since February 13 after they were stopped from entering Haryana and making to Delhi.