Overview
- Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan led a meeting with 28 farmer leaders in Chandigarh to address their long-standing demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support prices (MSP).
- The discussions, described as cordial and positive, lasted over two hours but ended inconclusively, with both sides agreeing to meet again on March 19.
- Farmers have been protesting at Punjab-Haryana border points since February 2024, demanding debt waivers, pension schemes, and justice for victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, among other issues.
- Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been on a fast-unto-death since November 2024, intensifying calls for the government to legislate on MSP and address their broader demands.
- The Modi-led government emphasized its commitment to farmers' welfare, while farmer representatives pressed for concrete actions, noting that prior talks had failed to yield substantive outcomes.