Minister Munda makes fresh offer for talks as farmer protests enter eighth day
Delhi Chalo’ march and protests, now in their eighth day. “After the fourth round, the government is ready to discuss all the issues including MSP demand, crop diversification, stubble issue, and FIR in the fifth round. I again invite farmer leaders for talks.
We need to maintain peace," a statement from the agriculture ministry quoting Munda said. Meanwhile, doctors at government-run Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, Punjab, confirmed the death of 24-year-old Shubh Karan Singh at the Khanouri border, making it the third casualty during the latest round of protests. Farmers have turned down the government’s offer to purchase pulses, maize, and cotton at guaranteed prices for five years, demanding instead a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for all 23 crops, along with the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pensions for farmers and farm laborers, and a waiver of farm debts.
The farmers are led by two umbrella bodies—the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM)—representing 200 farm unions. The protests come amid subdued agricultural production following repeated climate shocks including uneven rainfall last year. Farm incomes were also hit by export curbs announced by the government to tame consumer inflation.
For farmers, who were promised that their incomes will be doubled by 2022—as per a government set target—the crisis of profitability has translated into a rallying cry for revamp of the minimum support price regime. On Wednesday, Haryana Police reportedly fired tear gas and water canons to disperse farmers marching towards the national capital. An estimated 10,000 individuals, along with 1,200 tractors and wagons, have amassed at the Shambhu border crossing,
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