NEW DELHI

The joint platform of farm unions Samyukta Kisan Morcha, that is also leading the protests, is to approach the government seeking resumption of talks on pending demands, mainly a legal guarantee for procurement of all crops at minimum support price (MSP), even as planned protests, including a daily tractor march to Parliament from November 29, are scheduled to go on. "We discussed the issue of writing to the government to resume talks. There is more or less consensus among farmer unions' coordination committee as we want to press for our pending demands," said a farmer leader after the meeting.

A final call on this will, however, be taken in a larger meeting of all unions’ representatives on Sunday,” said the leader. He added let the SKM formally announce it at an appropriate time, possibly on Sunday. The tractor journey to Parliament is to go on till the new farm laws are repealed as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Asked about the rationale behind talks when the PM has already announced the decision to repeal the contentious farm laws and to form a committee to look into issues relating to MSP, another farmer leader said any such panel without representation of farmers’ unions, which have been agitating, would be meaningless and that’s why the SKM would like to resume talks with the government to press for its point of views on the critical issue.

“Our programmes for November 22 (Lucknow Mahapanchayat), November 26 (observing one year of agitation along Delhi borders) and November 29 (start of daily tractor march to Parliament during winter session) will continue as usual. Our other issues, especially legal guarantee to MSP, withdrawal of cases against us, rollback of Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 and certain provisions of the air quality law (mainly provision of fines for stubble burning), and allotment of a site for setting up a memorial for our friends who died, are pending,” said Darshan Pal, SKM leader.

“We hope the government calls a meeting to resolve the issues,” he said after the meeting of the SKM's coordination committee that also demanded compensation for the kin of 670 farmers who died during the stirs. It is learnt that the SKM will on Sunday decide on the next course of action, including formats of protests in different states over the issue of MSP. The SKM had earlier this month announced that 500 farmers would participate in the peaceful tractor march to Parliament every day during the winter session, beginning November 29. The session will continue till December 23.

“The tractor march will be organised as scheduled and therefore there is no point in leaving protest sites along Delhi borders till then...,” said P Krishnaprasad of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS). The SKM demanded that junior home minister Ajay Kumar Mishra be arrested over the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.