While farmers put off “Delhi Chalo,” the center hopes to break the impasse with a new MSP plan

According to Goyal, the panel suggested that after reaching an agreement with farmers, government agencies purchase cotton, maize, and pulse crops at MSP for a period of five years. “Cooperative societies like the NCCF and NAFED will enter into contracts with farmers growing ‘tur dal’, ‘urad dal’, ‘masoor dal’, or maize to buy their crop at MSP for the next five years,” Goyal said after the discussion. “There will be no limit on the quantity purchased, and a portal will be developed for this,” he said.

The leaders of the farmers said that they will deliberate on the government’s proposal in their forums for the next two days and then choose the next steps. “We will discuss in our forums on February 19–20 and take the opinion of experts regarding it and accordingly take a decision,” said farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher. The ‘Delhi Chalo’ march is now on pause but will continue at 11 am on February 21 if all concerns are not addressed, Pandher said. A conversation on loan waivers and other requests is ongoing, and we hope they will be handled in the next two days.

“We will talk about the government’s plan in our forums and with our specialists, maybe by tomorrow, February 19, or the day after tomorrow, February 20. The administration said it will reflect on the outstanding requests. As a result of the government’s request, our plan to go to Delhi on February 21 at 11 a.m. has been shelved. We will work with the government to try to resolve this via dialogue. If, for some reason, it doesn’t work out, we will ask the government to allow us to go to Delhi in peace,” Pandher said.

Earlier, on February 8, 12, and 15, the Union ministries and farmer leaders met, but the discussions ended without a resolution. Punjabi farmers on a protest have been camped out at Shambhu and Khanauri points on the state’s border with Haryana since authorities stopped their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march on February 13. The Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) called for the march in order to demand their demands.

In addition to a formal guarantee of MSP, the farmers want the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations to be implemented, pensions for farmers and farm laborers, an end to farm debt, no increase in electricity rates, the dismissal of police cases, “justice” for the victims of the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri in 2021, the reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and financial support for the families of farmers who lost their lives in an earlier agitation in 2020–21.