A panel of three Union ministers on Sunday proposed the buying of pulses, maize, and cotton crops by government agencies at minimum support prices for five years after entering into an agreement with farmers.

Speaking to the media after a more than four-hour-long meeting with farmer leaders here, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the “innovative” and “out-of-the-box” idea came up during the discussions.

The minister said the farmer leaders will decide on the proposals put forward by the government by Monday morning.

“Cooperative societies like the NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) will enter into a contract with those farmers who grow ‘tur dal’, ‘urad dal’, ‘masoor dal’ or maize for buying their crop at MSP for next five years,” said Mr Goyal.

“There will be no limit on the quantity (purchased) and a portal will be developed for this,” he added.

It will save Punjab’s farming, improve the groundwater table, and save the land from getting barren which is already under stress, Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, said.

He also proposed that the Cotton Corporation of India buy cotton from farmers at a minimum support price (MSP) for five years after entering into a legal agreement with them.

“We also want the cotton crop to be revived in Punjab. Whosoever farmer revives cotton or sows it, the CCI will enter into a legal agreement and whatever crop comes from the field through diversification will be bought for five years at MSP,” said Mr Goyal.

A panel of Union ministers held the fourth round of talks with farmer leaders here on Sunday over their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP, as thousands of protesting farmers were camping at the Punjab-Haryana border.

Mr Goyal, along with Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai reached the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26 for the talks.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also joined the meeting.

The Union ministers and farmer leaders had met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15 but the talks remained inconclusive.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A fourth meeting between the protesting farmers and a government delegation late last night seems to have made headway in the deadlock that saw a massive faceoff on the Punjab-Haryana border last week.

The government has proposed to buy pulses, maize, and cotton crops from the farmers in Punjab at the minimum safety price (MSP) for the next five years, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said after their Chandigarh meeting that lasted well past midnight.

The protesting farmers have sought two days to discuss the proposal in their forums while a decision on their other demands remains pending.

MSP refers to a price fixed by the government to protect farmers against a steep fall in prices. It acts as a safety net and prevents losses.

Mr Goyal, who met the farmers along with ministers Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai, said government agencies will sign a contract with the farmers for the next five years for the proposed procurement and there will be no limit on the buying quantity.

Read | What Minister Piyush Goyal Said After 4th Meeting With Protesting Farmers

“Cooperative societies like the NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation) and NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) will enter into a contract with those farmers who grow tur dal, urad dal, masoor dal or maize for buying their crop at MSP for next five years,” the minister said.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also joined the meeting, said the farmers need assured pricing if they must go for crop diversification. 

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said they will take the opinion of experts and then decide on their future course of action. He also hoped that their other demands would also be resolved in the next two days

Read | “We Had Asked For MSP Guarantee On Purchase Of Pulses”: Bhagwant Mann

The ‘Delhi Chalo’ march, which saw thousands of farmers heading towards Delhi with their tractors filled with ration for months, will be put on hold. But the march will resume on February 21 if all their demands are not met, he said.

Besides a law on MSP, the farmers are also demanding a loan waiver, the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, and the withdrawal of police cases filed against them during the protests.

The farmers began their march to Delhi last Tuesday and are now camping at Shambhu and Khanauri borders between Punjab and Haryana, where layers of barricades have been erected to stop them. There has been no report of any confrontation with the security personnel since their last meeting held four days ago.

Delhi is also fortified with Ghazipur, Singhu, and other borders partially sealed. Concrete blocks and nails are placed on roads to stop their tractors and trollies from crossing over.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will once again skip the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) summons, marking the sixth time he has failed to appear for questioning in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. The AAP has reiterated its stance, declaring the summons as “illegal” and asserting that the matter is now before the court.

In a statement released today, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emphasised that the ED had approached the court itself. The party suggested that instead of repeatedly issuing summonses, the ED should await the court’s decision on the validity of the matter.

The ongoing legal battle between Mr Kejriwal and the ED has escalated, with the probe agency persistently summoning the Delhi Chief Minister, who has consistently refused to comply. The sixth summons comes in the wake of a Delhi court’s directive to Arvind Kejriwal to appear and explain his non-compliance with the previous summons.

Mr Kejriwal’s refusal to appear before the ED raises the possibility of him becoming the first sitting chief minister to face arrest.

The ED, investigating money laundering charges, has been probing allegations related to the Delhi liquor excise policy. The case revolves around accusations that the AAP government’s revamped alcohol sales policy allowed it to receive kickbacks from cartels, allegedly funneled into funding election expenses in various states, including Goa.

While Mr Kejriwal has not been named as an accused in the case, two senior AAP members, including ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, have faced arrests.

The AAP vehemently denies all charges, asserting that the BJP is manipulating investigative agencies to target the party.