Chandigarh, 20 Feb

Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Tuesday sought that the Centre accept their demands, including a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops and farm loan waiver, and said they will head to Delhi on Wednesday.

His statement came a day after the farmer leaders taking part in the "Delhi Chalo" agitation rejected the Centre's proposal for procuring pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP by government agencies for five years, saying it was not in favour of farmers.

In the fourth round of talks with the farmer leaders on Sunday, a panel of three Union ministers proposed that government agencies would buy pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP for five years after entering into an agreement with farmers.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the "Delhi Chalo" march.

Talking to reporters at the Shambhu border point between Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday, Pandher, who represents the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, said the farmers have three big demands -- a legal guarantee on the MSP for all crops, the implementation of the "C2 plus 50 per cent" formula as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission and loan waiver. Replying to a question, Pandher said at the meeting with the Union ministers, the farmers proposed that a law on the MSP be enacted by convening a special session of Parliament.

On the issue of loan waiver, he said according to government reports, farmers have a total debt to the tune of Rs 18.5 lakh crore. He requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make an announcement that the farm loans would be waived, while a mechanism for the same could be worked out later. "The BJP claims that the present prime minister is a strong prime minister. If he makes an announcement on waiving the debt of 80 crore farmers and farm labourers, it will stamp the BJP's claim that he really is a strong prime minister," Pandher said.

He asked the Union ministers to give their response to the various demands of the farmers. Replying to a question on the "Delhi Chalo" march, the farmer leader said "our announcement (of going to Delhi on Wednesday) stands". To another question, he said no demand of the farmers has been accepted by the Centre. On the issue of death of two farmers during the ongoing protest, Pandher said the Punjab government should announce a policy in this regard and sought compensation and jobs for one of the family members of the deceased.

A 72-year-old farmer, who was part of the protest at the Khanauri border point, died of cardiac arrest on Sunday. Earlier, a 63-year-old farmer died of a heart attack at the Shambhu border.