Farmers to resume Delhi march…
Tear gas shells have been used at the Punjab-Haryana border. Farmers are demanding legal backing for MSP to be stationed to resume their march on Delhi.
There are traffic jams around Delhi's borders which have been fortified.
On Monday evening farmer leaders denied the government's offer to buy maize, cotton, and three types of pulses - toor, urad, and masoor - at the earlier MSP.
They said it did not make sense as it applied to only a few crops, and ignored the other 18.
The farmers said the price - based on the A2+FL+50 percent formula (MSP at 1.5 times direct costs, such as seeds and fertilizers, and unpaid family labor), and not the Swaminathan Commission's C2+50 percent formula - would be "subsistence" payments and not "income".
They were also unhappy with a clause that said MSP would only be for those opting for crop diversification, meaning they must plant crops cleared by the government to be eligible for the support price. "We have, thus, decided to reject the proposal..."
The offer followed four talk rounds in Chandigarh between farmer leaders and the government, which was represented by three union ministers, including Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda, who has said: "Unruly elements are trying to hijack talks".
Edited By: Arusha Farooq
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