'Delhi chalo' march put on hold till Feb 21: Farmer leader Pandher

Chandigarh, Feb 19 (IANS) Hours after holding the fourth round of talks with the Centre, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Monday said they would mull over the Centre's proposal to give guarantees on buying five crops at the minimum support price (MSP) and also the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march has been put on hold till February 21.

There will be peaceful protests at Shambhu and Khanauri borders located along the Haryana entry points till that time.

“Our decision to go to Delhi is on standby. On February 21 at 11 a.m., we will move forward peacefully. Till then we will try to present our points in front of the Centre,” he told the media.

Soon after the fourth round of talks concluded here early Monday in which the Central government proposed to give guarantees on buying five crops from farmers at the MSP, he said, “We will discuss proposals given by the Centre with fellow farmers, take the opinions of experts.”

The crops which the Centre has proposed to buy on assured MSP include three pulses -- arhar, tur and urad, besides cotton and maize. It is proposed that the central agencies such as the NCCF, NAFED and the Cotton Corporation of India will sign a contract for five years to buy the crops from the farmers.

The farmer leaders have been asked by the three-member Union ministers comprising Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai to discuss their proposal and give their consent before arriving at the final plan from the Central government.

Interacting with the media after the meeting, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said if the MSP is given for this crop then Punjab can lead the country in production of pulses.

He said it will be a second green revolution in the country though Punjab had suffered due to the Green Revolution by loss of its only natural resources in terms of over exploitation of fertile soil and water.

The Chief Minister also said that farmers of the state can adopt cotton and maize only if they get the MSP of these crops.

He said the assured marketing of these crops can encourage the farmers for crop diversification -- a major push to the crop diversification in the country.

He said the country today imports pulses from other countries whereas if farmers get remunerative prices then they can produce these pulses here.