Centre to withdraw cases against farmers registered during farm laws agitation: Reports

NEW DELHI: The delegation from the

Centre

has agreed to

withdraw cases

against

farmers

filed during the 2020-21 agitation against the now-repealed farm laws in the meeting held between union ministers and farm leaders late on Monday evening, PTI reported quoting sources.
The Union ministers also reportedly consented to provide

compensation

to families of farmers who lost their lives during the previous protest.

Additionally, Central ministers were also discussing various other demands of the farmers during the meeting.
Union ministers held talks with farmer leaders on Monday evening in an attempt to dissuade them from their 'Delhi Chalo' march.
The farmers' demands encompass a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pensions for farmers and farm laborers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases, "justice" for victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act 2013, withdrawal from the World Trade Organization, and compensation for families of deceased farmers from the previous protest, among other issues.

Both the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha declared that farmers will head to Delhi on February 13 to emphasize their demands to the Centre. Alongside farmer leaders, senior officers from the Punjab government, including Chief Secretary Anurag Verma and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, attended the meeting.
Food and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal and agriculture minister Arjun Munda conducted the second round of talks with farmer leaders at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Chandigarh.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political), including Jagjit Singh Dallewal, and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher. The meeting extended into the late evening hours.
Punjab cabinet minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, present at the meeting, affirmed the state government's solidarity with the farmers.
The first round of meeting between the Union minister and farm leaders occurred on February 8, featuring in-depth discussions with leaders of farmer organizations.
As thousands of farmers planned to march towards the national capital during the 'Delhi Chalo' protest on February 13, Haryana police have taken preemptive measures, establishing multiple checkposts strategically, deploying 11 paramilitary companies, and imposing Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in Sirsa.