Centre to continue talks with farmers on MSP guarantee

The Indian government plans to continue talks with farmers on May 4, despite recent arrests of some farmer leaders by Punjab Police. Officials believe these detentions are temporary and that the leaders will soon be available to participate in discussions. The main focus of the talks will be addressing the farmers' demand for a legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP). The government will also consult experts on the financial implications of this demand. Officials aim to explore various ways to ensure the procurement of crops that are linked to the MSP across all states and Union Territories. During previous discussions, farmer leaders argued that the government's costs would be manageable since it would only need to intervene for crops priced below the MSP. Key farmer leaders, including Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher, were among those detained while protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders. Meanwhile, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which led the protests against controversial farm laws in 2020-21, is working to unify different farmer groups. Their goal is to create a stronger collective voice to advocate for their demands. So far, there have been seven rounds of talks with these farmer groups since last year.