Farmers' Protest: After positive discussion, Centre to hold fourth round of talks with farmers on Sunday

Three Union ministers held talks with the leaders of protesting farmer unions for more than five hours on Thursday night. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Adminstration in Chandigarh. 

Third round of talks end

The third round of talks between the protesting farmers in Punjab and three central ministers concluded on a positive note well past midnight. Union Agriculture minister Arjun Munda said the dialogue was "very positive" and they had decided to meet again. The farmer union leaders called the discussions on MSP, the Swaminathan report, and debt waiver "fruitful."

#WATCH | Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda, Nityanand Rai and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann hold a meeting with farmer leaders, in Chandigarh.

(Video: CM Bhagawant Mann PRO) pic.twitter.com/3mCx30DXbd

— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2024

Farmers to hold next round of talks again

Union Minister Arjun Munda said on Thursday "Today, a very positive discussion happened between the government and the farmers' unions. Focusing on the topics highlighted by the farmers' union, we have decided that the next meeting will take place on Sunday at 6 pm.... We all will find a solution peacefully..."

#WATCH | Chandigarh: After the meeting with the farmer unions concluded, Union Minister Arjun Munda says, "Today, a very positive discussion happened between the government and the farmers' unions. Focusing on the topics highlighted by the farmers' union, we have decided that the… pic.twitter.com/mJpQ8LkGtj

— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2024

Mobile internet ban till this date

The protesting farmers clashed with the police and broke barricades at the Shambhu border connecting Punjab and Haryana in an attempt to cross over to Delhi to pressure the Centre to accept their MSP demand. 
The Haryana government on Thursday extended the ban on mobile internet and bulk SMS services in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa of Haryana state  till February 17. 

About Farmers protest

The Farmers protest 2.0 is an ongoing protest started by farmers on the morning of 13 February 2024 to demand the government's guarantee on assured floor prices or Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crop production in a repeat of the 2020-2021 Indian farmers' protest. With hundreds of thousands of farmers marching towards the capital city, the police sealed the borders and placed barricaded to prevent the farmers from entering Delhi. Tear gas canisters and water canons were used at some borders to disperse the gathering crowds of farmers, who turned out on tractors, trucks and foot.