3rd round of talks with farm union leaders today, Shambhu still tense

Aman Sood

Rajpura, February 14

After two days of ruckus at the Shambhu barrier where a standoff between farmers and the Haryana Police continued, farm unions today agreed to hold another round of talks with Union ministers in Chandigarh on Thursday. The farm unions agreed to talks following intervention by senior Punjab Government officials, including ADGP (Intelligence) Jaskaran Singh.

Initially, the leaders refused to budge, asserting that the Haryana Police must first “stop firing bullets” at farmers and remove barricades. However, they agreed to talks when they were told that the Punjab Government and the Centre were seriously looking into their genuine demands.

“We met ADGP Jaskaran Singh and spoke with other Punjab officials who assured us of an amicable solution at tomorrow’s meeting in Chandigarh,” said Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary, Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee. “Our union leaders and members will camp at Shambhu tomorrow and wait for the meeting to end. We are hopeful that the result will be positive,” he said. Pandher said they had been informed that Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai would be present in the meeting. “We have urged the Punjab Government to ensure that the meeting ends in a written assurance for resolution of our demands. As against the general perception created by some vested interests, we are always open for discussion,” Pandher said.

Will maintain peace

On Tuesday night, we got a message from a Union minister regarding a meeting. On Wednesday, we received a formal invite for the meeting on Thursday. We will continue our peaceful protest and take no action till the meeting. —Jagjit Singh Dallewal, SKM (Non-political) leader

The second round of talks between Union ministers and farmers’ leaders ended inconclusively in Chandigarh on Monday night, following which thousands of farmers reached the Shambhu barrier on Tuesday.

While the leaders are adamant on getting a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP), the Centre assured them that some of their demands would be met. “In the third round of talks, we will again press for a written assurance on debt waiver and a legal guarantee for the MSP,” said senior SKM (Non-political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal. Earlier today, around 50 farmers from Punjab were injured when the Haryana Police allegedly resorted to firing rubber bullets and tear gas shells. The injured are being treated at government hospitals and the Punjab Government has announced free treatment for them. Appealing to the Haryana Police not to fire at peaceful protesters, senior union leaders, who are spearheading the ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest, declared “ceasefire” for Wednesday. “We will not try to remove barricades and appeal to the police to stop firing as a meeting has been fixed on Thursday,” they said.

Since Wednesday morning, the police continued to fire tear gas shells and smoke bombs on the protesters whenever they reached near the barricades.

At least thrice during the day, youths tried to reach the concrete slabs placed at the Shambhu barrier. “The police started firing rubber bullets and tear gas shells whenever anyone went near the barricades. It was unwarranted,” claimed the farmers.

Following objections by farm unions, Patiala Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray wrote to his Ambala counterpart, expressing disapproval of use of drones deep inside the territory of Patiala district. However, drones continued to operate in Patiala territory for most part of the day.

Farmers injured

Several farmers from Punjab were injured when the Haryana Police allegedly resorted to firing rubber bullets and tear gas shells on Wednesday.

Punjab-bound Trucks stranded in Ambala

A large number of trucks loaded with spare parts, sugar, milk and other edible items are parked along the service lane on National Highway-44 in Ambala. These trucks, which reached Ambala from states such as West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, UP, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi, were on way to various parts of Punjab.