Gridlock expected in Delhi-NCR even as Punjab-Haryana border sealed to prevent entry of farmers
The photo shared by Punjab Cabinet Minister, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, on his X handle Thousands of farmers from Punjab and Haryana are expected to march towards Delhi starting from 10 am on February 13, 2024, after a second round of talks between farmer leaders and Union ministers failed to sort out issues, according to media reports.
Talks between leaders from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee and the Union ministers ended after four hours on February 12 in Chandigarh, without any result.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal of the SKM (Non-Political), a breakaway faction of the SKM, along with Swaran Singh Pandher of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee held talks with Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal and Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Chandigarh, NDTV reported.
Punjab Cabinet Minister, Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal, shared a photo of the meeting on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.
“The meeting between farmer leaders and Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Arjun Munda has begun. The Punjab government stands shoulder-to-shoulder with farmers,” posted Dhaliwal in Hindi and Punjabi.
On the agenda of the meeting were several demands by farmers. These included Minimum Support Price (MSP) guarantee, justice for the farmers killed in Lakhimpur-Kheri (Uttar Pradesh) during the earlier 2020-21 protests against the three controversial farm laws, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, farm loan waiver, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, India’s withdrawal from the World Trade Organization and compensation for the families of farmers who died during the earlier year-long protests.
The SKM, the umbrella body that had led the earlier protests, had last year rejected the committee formed by the Centre on MSP and other issues. A legal guarantee to MSP was one of the core demands of the 2020-21 protests, which ended when the Narendra Modi government repealed the three contentious farm laws and promised to form a committee on the issue of MSP.
“The meeting went on for a very long time, but the government’s proposal of February 8 remained the same. The government is adamant on its stand, now we will go from here and talk in our respective forums and decide on our future stand. One thing is certain that our movement is continuing, and if the government works in this manner and does not pay attention to our views, we will be forced to move ahead tomorrow,” Dallewal told reporters after the meeting.
The meeting on February 12 came after a first round of talks on February 8, which had been without result too.
Farmers, especially from Punjab, will now march towards Delhi on February 13 morning. The initial plan was to cross the Haryana-Punjab border through the border posts of Shambhu (Ambala district in Haryana), Khanauri (Sangrur district in Punjab) and Dabwali (Sirsa district in Haryana).
However, the Haryana government has already sealed these posts. Security forces are currently patrolling Haryana districts that border Punjab — Panchkula, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Jind, Kaithal, Fatehabad and Sirsa.
Section 144 has also been imposed in the national capital. The administration has issued advisories for motorists, suggesting alternative routes for commuting.
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