'Farmers' Protest 2024 to continue if...' says Farmer Leader
"Our Delhi Chalo march will continue till the demands are met", said Farmer Leader Sarwan Singh Pandher.
Farmers' Protest 2024, Latest News on 'Delhi Chalo' March: After the fourth round of meetings between the protesting farmers and Union Ministers, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, "...Our decision to go to Delhi is on standby. On February 21 at 11 am, we will move forward peacefully. Till then we will try to present our points in front of the centre..."
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said, "...We will discuss the proposal by the govt (on MSP) with our forums and experts, and then, we will come to a conclusion... Our Delhi Chalo march will continue till the demands are met as the talks on several other demands need to be done..."
General Secretary of Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Sarvan Singh Pandher said, "...We will have discussions on the proposal by the govt in the next two days... The govt will also deliberate on the other demands... We will continue with the 'Delhi Chalo' march on Feb 21 if there is no result."
Sarvan Singh Pandher said, "The ministers said that they will have discussions on the other demands after returning to Delhi... The discussions will be held on Feb 19-20 and the 'Delhi Chalo' march scheduled for Feb 21 will be decided based on the discussions... Together (govt and the farmers' union), we will try to find a solution to the issues."
On the other hand, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, "The discussions went on for five hours. I talked about the benefits for Punjab. We had asked for an MSP guarantee on the purchase of pulses, which was discussed in the meeting."
Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, "During the meeting, the farmers stressed the need for crop diversification amid the depleting water table. The farmers' union will tell us their decision by morning. We will also have discussions with NCCF and NAFED after returning to Delhi... The Cotton Corporation of India will enter a 5-year legal agreement with farmers to buy the crop at MSP..."
Piyush Goyal further said, "We have together proposed a very innovative, out-of-the-box idea... The govt promoted cooperative societies like NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) will form a contract for the next 5 years and buy products from the farmers on MSP. There will be no limit on the quantity..."
He also said, "With new ideas and thoughts, we had a positive discussion with Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Union and other farmer leaders...We had a detailed discussion on how to carry forward the work done by PM Modi in the last 10 years."