Amid the farmers’ protest for the fourth consecutive day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that his Government at the Centre has been actively working on various schemes for the “benefit of farmers”. Addressing a public gathering after laying the foundation stone for AIIMS at Rewari in Haryana, the PM said his BJP-led NDA Government has provided farmers with the “guarantee” to seek loans from banks, a privilege previously denied to them.
“We provided farmers with the Modi guarantee... banks did not grant them loans, but we assured farmers,” the PM said. He made these assertions at a public rally where he recalled that his first address after the party named him the Prime Ministerial candidate in 2013 was at Rewari.
Modi inaugurated several development projects worth several crores for Rajasthan and Haryana, including the Rewari AIIMS, a new rail line, and a metro line.
Modi noted that the journey began there, securing over 273 Lok Sabha seats, and expressed hope for the NDA Government to claim more than 400 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming elections.
This holds significance as another round of meetings between farmer representatives and Union Ministers is scheduled for February 18, following ‘positive’ discussions in the meeting concluded on the night of Thursday-Friday.
Meanwhile, the situation at sensitive Delhi-Haryana and Haryana-Punjab borders remained peaceful, with continued talks between agitating farmers’ organisations and Central Government representatives.
Haryana Police fired tear gas shells to disperse protesting farmers at the Shambhu border near Ambala. There was a mixed response to the ‘Gramin Bharat Bandh called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Friday, with markets and bazaars in Delhi and NCR opening.
Amid the impasse, Union Ministers and farmer leaders will meet on Sunday for the fourth round of talks. Despite inconclusive talks on February 8, 12, and 15, the third round of discussions between protesting farmers in Punjab and three central ministers concluded positively in the wee hours of Friday.
Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda described the meeting as cordial, with a positive discussion. He confirmed that talks will continue on Sunday at 6 pm, expressing optimism in finding a solution through dialogue.
Among the farmer leaders present were SKM (non-political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher. Pandher highlighted the detailed discussion on demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP and debt waiver. He acknowledged the ministers’ request for time.
Meanwhile, protesting farmers vowed to continue their presence at the Punjab and Haryana borders over various demands, as the deadlock persisted despite the third round of talks with Union Ministers.
During the Gramin Bharat Bandh on Friday, protests occurred in parts of western Uttar Pradesh in response to the ‘Bharat Bandh’ call given by the SKM. Commuters in Punjab faced inconvenience as buses stayed off the roads in support of the SKM’s call for a ‘Bharat Bandh’ to press the Government to accept farmers’ demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP. Markets and commercial establishments at several places in the State also remained shut while farmers held demonstrations and blocked national highways in Pathankot, Tarn Taran, Bathinda, and Jalandhar.
They raised slogans against the Centre for not accepting their demands.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda said the meeting between the Government and the farmer leaders took place in a cordial atmosphere. He said there was a positive discussion, and the talks will continue, scheduled for Sunday at 6 pm. “We will find a solution by sitting together,” he added.
Among the farmer leaders who participated in the meeting were SKM (non-political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee General Secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher. Pandher stated that a detailed discussion was held on their demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP and a debt waiver. “They (Union ministers) said they need time,” said Pandher.
Meanwhile, protesting farmers will remain at the two borders of Punjab and Haryana over their various demands as the deadlock persists despite the third round of talks with a panel of Union Ministers.
Besides a legal guarantee on MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm laborers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases, “justice” for the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.
