Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee General Secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said on Wednesday that farmers do not want any conflict, and he informed reporters that the meeting with the Centre will take place at 5 PM tomorrow (February 15) in Chandigarh. The farmer leader stated that the meeting will be held with Union Ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal, and Nityanand Rai.
"There was a lengthy discussion (on various issues) today. But our priority (at the meeting) was to restore normalcy (across state borders). We received a letter from the central government requesting a meeting (in Chandigarh) tomorrow," Jagjit Singh Dallewal told reporters.
Earlier in the day, Dallewal stated that farmers are ready to discuss their key demands with the Centre, particularly a legal assurance for the minimum support price (MSP). Dallewal's statement comes after recent media reports suggested that Union Minister Anurag Thakur acknowledged the Centre's willingness to engage in talks to address the farmers' concerns.
Speaking at the Shambhu border, Dallewal told news agency PTI, "We do not want to give the Centre any room for claiming that it invited us, but they refused. That we have accepted, and we are ready to talk".
He stated that the farmer leaders had obtained the consent of fellow farmers to engage in discussions. "We will hold talks after receiving their consent," he was quoted as saying by PTI, emphasising the importance of discussions taking place in Chandigarh.
Dallewal responded to a question about an official invitation, stating that no invitation for a dialogue has been received as of yet. Despite this, he urged a receptive stance, saying, "If they (the Centre) have given an invitation after seeing all of this and said they are ready to resolve their issues, then we should hear them".
According to a PTI report, Dallewal also chastised the Centre for alleged police actions against protesting farmers at the Punjab and Haryana borders. However, he denied Haryana Police's claims that protesters threw stones at security personnel.
It is to be noted that the farmer leaders have already held two rounds of talks with the government, the first with Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda, and Nityanand Rai, and the second with Goyal and Munda in Chandigarh. Both discussions, however, were inconclusive.