Govt, farmers to hold talks as more unions may join stir

A panel of central ministers will begin a third round of negotiations with protesting farmers on Thursday, people aware of the matter said, as the Centre aims to resolve a stir that has choked the borders between Punjab and Haryana even as the agitation appeared likely to expand on Wednesday, with a bunch of key farm unions pledging their support.

- Ravinder Vasudeva, Bhavey Nagpal, Sunil Rahar and Karn Pratap Singh

Meanwhile, defence minister Rajnath Singh and agriculture minister Arjun Munda held talks on Wednesday, said officials aware of their discussions, with the former consulted to end a deadlock that has threatened to spill over into Delhi, which security forces have fortified with layers of barricades and advanced surveillance equipment.

The news of high-level discussions, however, did little to calm restive farmers from Punjab and Haryana, who continued to lay siege to the borders between the two north Indian states, with fresh face-offs between agitators and security personnel at the Shambhu and Jind borders. They have called a nationwide strike on Friday.

The traffic mess in Delhi eased somewhat-though the borders between Delhi and Haryana, and Delhi and Uttar Pradesh still remained clogged as police streamlined diversions, and thousands of commuters opted for public transit instead of private vehicles after the nightmarish snarls on Tuesday.

Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Nityanand Rai and Munda will lead the talks on Thursday, according to an invite sent to farm leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher, who are leading the agitation. Goyal and Munda were both part of the first two rounds of talks with protesters, held on February 8 and 12 respectively, while Rai was present during the first.

Dallewal, convener of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur), said they will take a call on the future of the protests depending on the outcome of Thursday's meeting.