farmers protest, Delhi Chalo
Union Minister Arjun Munda, while responding to the farmers’ ‘Delhi Chalo’ march, stressed the need for time and consultation to address the concerns of the farming community.
Reaffirming the government’s commitment to protect the welfare of farmers, the Union Minister said, “We care about the interests of farmers. It is not our concern if anyone engages in politics on this issue. We have always been ready for conversations and discussions and we are ready to do everything possible to find a solution to this problem.”
“This issue also concerns the state governments. We need time to understand this problem and find a method to solve it,” he added.
Munda stressed the importance of consultation and cooperation with the states to formulate a viable solution.
“There will be a need for consultation. We need to discuss this with the states. We need to prepare a forum for discussions and find a solution,” the Union minister said.
“The Government of India is obliged to protect the interests of farmers while ensuring that no inconvenience is caused to the public. The farmers’ union must understand this so that the interests of farmers are protected,” he added.
“I have been to Chandigarh twice and have spoken to the farmers’ organizations. While talking to the farmers’ organisations, I said that we are doing everything possible to demand from the Government of India and this has been conveyed to them. We have been twice for this met and we had a completely positive discussion. We took it in the right way,” he added.
On Congress and other parties supporting farmers, Arjun Munda said, “I will not say anything on this issue as we are more concerned about the interests of farmers. Is there anyone who is involved in politics, what does he do and what does he not do in this area? It? We don’t have to comment on that.’
On farmers alleging that the government’s proposal is flawed, Munda said, “We started talking, we will find a solution through talks. After all, why did we go to Chandigarh, we went there ourselves, Piyush Goyal ji , Nityanand Rai ji, our officials, and it will be resolved only through talks.”
Arjun Munda is among the team of ministers holding talks with farmer leaders, including Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal, MoS Nityanand Rai and Punjab Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal.
Earlier on Monday, a recent meeting between farmer union leaders and the government ended in a stalemate, with no common ground in sight.
Earlier in the day, Sarwan Singh Pandher, General Secretary of the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, said that all efforts had been made during the meeting to find a solution to avoid a confrontation with the government, adding that they expected a positive result.
The farmers have submitted 12 demands to the central government, for which they are marching to Delhi.
The protest this time has been called by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha and the Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee led by farmer union leaders Jagjeet Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher.
According to the protesting farmers, the Center promised them better crop prices after which they ended the 2021 protest.
They are demanding a law that will ensure minimum support price (MSP) for all crops as recommended in the Swaminathan Commission report.
They also demand full debt forgiveness and a scheme to provide pensions to farmers and agricultural workers.
The farmers have also urged scrapping of the Electricity Amendment Act 2020 and are demanding the reintroduction of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, guaranteeing farmers’ consent and compensation of four times the collector rate.
They further demand that those involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri killings be punished.
The farmers have also appealed to provide 200 days of work per year and a daily wage of Rs 700 under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA), linking this to agriculture.
A demand to provide compensation to the families of farmers killed during the 2021 protests and a job for each family member have also been introduced.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: February 13, 2024 | 1:16 PM IST