Ahead of talks with the government, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leaders said that while several farmers supported the “Delhi March”, all decisions regarding the protest will be taken by the original group, which is in charge. “Thank you to all the organizations who supported our call to march in Delhi to get government approval. However, all decisions on the current protest will be taken only by SKM (Non-Political) and Kisan. Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee,” said the farmers’ leader Abhimanyu Kohar For Businessline. He also said that SKM (Non-Political) will take a call if any farmer asks them to join a joint forum.
In Rajasthan, Rampal Jat-led Kisan Mahapanchayat has decided to take out a tractor march from Ajmer. on February 21 to Delhi via Jaipur to support MSP’s legal guarantee claim. It said that despite several announcements by Union Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, the Center has failed to secure MSP for mustard. Currently, farmers in Rajasthan are selling freshly harvested mustard at ₹4,200 per quintal against the MSP of ₹5,650. /center, less than 25 percent, Jat said. According to portal Agmarknet, Rajasthan’s Bara mandi, which last week reported the highest arrival in the state at 1,810 tonnes, had an average (transport) price of around ₹ 4,500/hundred on February 17.
In western Uttar Pradesh , the BKU assembly was held at its headquarters in Sisaul (Muzaffaranagar) on Saturday, where it was decided that farmers would stage dharnas in UP, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand on February 21 to press for the legal guarantee of MSP. BKU spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said the meeting passed a resolution asking SKM (which is another body) to launch a tractor march to Delhi in the last week of February if the government does not agree to farmers’ demands. Two unions in Punjab – Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) and BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner), which are not part of the current Delhi March protest – have already announced their support to the protest. The Haryana-based BKU, led by Gurnam Singh Charun, organized tractor marches in Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Sirsa and other places to support the ongoing agitation.
After nearly five hours of talks between union ministers and farmers’ leaders on Thursday evening, both agreed to meet again on Sunday to find solutions to the demands presented and the farmers confirmed that they will not try to advance Delhi before the next negotiation.