Haryana farmer unions, khaps to join agitation if talks fail

BKU (Charuni) president Gurnam Singh Charuni unites farmer groups in Haryana and Punjab for MSP demands amid ongoing protests.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) national president Gurnam Singh Charuni on February 18 said the farmer unions and khap panchayats in Haryana would put up a united fight with the protesting Punjab farmer organisations in support of their demands if the talks with the government fail.

He also announced a four-member committee to initiate discussions with Delhi farmers and seek their support.

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Mr. Charuni made the announcement after the representatives of several farmer organisations, khaps and toll committees [set up by farmers during the earlier agitation to hold protests at toll plazas] met at Brahm Sarovar here to discuss the situation arising out of the farmers’ agitation. Mr. Charuni said the strategy to take forward the agitation would be formulated on the basis of the outcome of the meeting between the farmers and the government on Sunday evening.

Thousands of protesting farmers from Punjab are presently camping on the Haryana boundary, after they were stopped from marching to Delhi to raise their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP).

The BKU (Charuni), which enjoys considerable support among farmers in north Haryana, was a constituent of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, which had spearheaded the 13-month-long farmers’ agitation against the three farm laws. The group has, however, stayed away from the ongoing agitation till now.