Farmer leaders are preparing for a key meeting with government representatives on Friday to discuss their 13 pending demands, including a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops and loan waivers. The meeting is expected to take place in Chandigarh on Friday afternoon.
Senior farmer leaders associated with Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), including Sarvan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal—who has been on a hunger strike since November 26—will be part of the discussions. While addressing a gathering of farmers at Khanauri border, Dallewal on Wednesday said he would participate in a meeting of the Central government panel, to be held in Chandigarh on Friday on farmers’ demands.
This meeting is crucial, as earlier talks between farmer unions and central ministers have remained inconclusive. The last meeting in February last year failed when farmers rejected the government’s proposal to purchase five crops—arhar, cotton, maize, lentils, and black gram—at MSP for five years. Farmer leaders refused to accept this, insisting that nothing less than MSP at C2+50% for all crops with guaranteed procurement would be acceptable.
Since February 13, hundreds of farmers have been protesting at the Shambhu border along NH-44, one of the busiest highways in India. They were stopped by Haryana authorities from marching towards Delhi, where they had hoped to revive their 2020-21 protest momentum. The ongoing protest has severely affected daily life and business along the highway.
The farmers have been living in temporary shelters set up in tractor trailers, braving the weather and continuing their fight. The blockade has caused massive inconvenience to commuters traveling between Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi, disrupting the lives of thousands of people.
Local businesses near the highway have suffered significant losses due to the prolonged agitation, with shopkeepers and vendors losing hope of returning to normal operations. Barricades erected by Haryana police at the Shambhu border—250 kilometers from Delhi’s Singhu border, the center of the 2020-21 protests—symbolize the hurdles farmers are facing in their struggle to reignite their movement.
Protests have also been staged at Khanauri and Ratanpura borders since February, with farmer leaders determined to push for a resolution to their demands. However, the government’s inaction has left the protest in a stalemate, testing the patience and endurance of the farmers.
As they prepare for Friday’s talks, farmer leaders remain cautious, citing past experiences that left many of their demands unmet. They hope that this meeting will finally bring the much-needed breakthrough in their long-standing fight for farmers’ rights.