Farmers on Saturday formed a five-member panel to hold talks with the government on minimum support price and other demands, ANI reported. The decision was taken at a meeting organised by Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmers’ unions.
The committee will have Balbir Singh Rajewal, Shiv Kumar Kakka, Gurnam Singh Charuni, Yudhvir Singh and Ashok Dhawale. Samyukta Kisan Morcha will hold its next meeting on December 7, said farm leader Rakesh Tikait.
On Tuesday, the government had sought five names from Samyukta Kisan Morcha to discuss the pending demands.
Although Parliament had repealed the three farm laws on Monday, the farmers’ leaders have said that they will continue their protest till their other demands are met. These include a legal guarantee on minimum support price on crops, withdrawal of cases lodged against the protestors during the farm law agitation and suspension of minister Ajay Mishra from the Union Cabinet, among others.
Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra allegedly ran over protestors in Lakhimpur Kheri in October. Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in the violence.
On November 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that a government-level committee on agriculture would be formed to decide on matters such as promoting zero budgeting-based agriculture, changing crop patterns and making the minimum support price more effective and transparent.
The prime minister had said the committee would include representatives of the Centre, state governments, farmers, agricultural scientists and agricultural economists.
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