Farmers To Resume Protest On Feb 21 — Know Why They Rejected Centre's Five-Year MSP Proposal

Farmers rejected Centre's proposal on the MSP and are set to resume the 'Delhi Chalo' march on February 21.

Farmer leaders on Monday rejected the Modi government's proposal on Minimum Support Price asserting that it did not serve the interests of farmers. After rejecting the proposal, the farmers have announced that they will resume the 'Delhi Chalo' march on February 21 from the Shambhu border.

What Was Centre's Proposal?

The centre presented a five-year plan to the farmer leaders under which the government proposed buying pulses, maize, and cotton at MSP for the next five years. A panel of Union ministers including Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai presented the proposal during the fourth round of talks held in Chandigarh on Sunday.

Reasons For Rejection

After the previous three rounds of talks between the farmers and union government held on February 8,12, and 15, centre was hopeful that the fourth round of talks would end up in a resolution.

Although the farmers were stern about their demands on a legal guarantee on MSP, the kisan leaders had said that they would deliberate on the new proposal, only after which the future course of action would be decided. 

Farmers asserted that they wanted the MSP on all 23 crops and not just the ones mentioned by the centre in the proposal. Hence, they rejected the proposal. 

The farmer leaders also stated that the proposal will only benefit the farmers who rotate their crop cycles between rice grains and pulses.

What Farmer Leaders Said

Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a farmer leader from Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) stated, "After holding discussion (on the Centre's proposal) in our two forums, it has been decided that the Centre's proposal is not in the interest of farmers and we reject this proposal." 

Dallewal further said that the farmers did not accept the government's MSP proposal as "they said during the meeting that they will buy all the crops of the country, but at the press conference outside, they said a totally different thing. This means this is some kind of injustice to the farmers. They said that Rs 1.5 lakh crore will be spent to ensure MSP on pulses. But our expert said that this is completely wrong, crops of the entire can be bought for Rs 1.75 lakh crore. For February 21, we request the government to hold a peaceful protest (march to Delhi)."

"The intention of the govt was very clear that they would not let us enter Delhi at any cost...If you don't want to find a solution through discussion with farmers then we should be allowed to march towards Delhi...When we moved towards Delhi, shelling happened...Bullets were also used on the tyres of the tractors...DGP Haryana has said that they are not using tear gas on farmers...We demand punishment for those using it then...Wrong statements are also being given...The situation in Haryana is like that of Kashmir. We will march towards Delhi on Feb 21...The govt has given us a proposal so that we backtrack from our original demands...The govt will be responsible for whatever happens now," Sarwan Singh Pandher said.

'Delhi Chalo' March To Resume On Feb 21

Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee General Secretary, Sarwan Singh Pandher spoke to the media on Monday about rejecting the MSP proposal. He said, "The Centre says something else in the discussions and while speaking at the press conference outside, they say different things. We have not given any proposal. We will move towards Delhi on February 21 at 11 am."

SKM (non-political) leader Dallewal has appealed to the government to allow the farmers to protest peacefully in Delhi and urged the farmers to not indulge in violence.

The farmer leaders have urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu action over the injuries inflicted on the farmers during the clashes last week which allegedly injured 400 farmers at the Punjab-Haryana border.

What Happened Last Week

The 'Delhi Chalo' march began on February 13 but the farmers were stopped at the Shambhu border on the same day. Ahead of the protests, the security arrangements were tightened across Delhi and along its borders with Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Multiple levels of security arrangements including concrete blockades, iron nails, and barbed wires were installed at Singhu, Ghazipur, and Tikri borders and over 5000 security personnel were deployed at the borders with cranes and earthmovers. Section 144 was imposed throughout Delhi to maintain law and order amid the protest.