Union Minister Anurag Thakur on February 16 said he was certain that talks between agitating farmers and Union Ministers would be “cordial”. He also said he wanted to know how Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann would respond to farmers’ demands going by what the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had once demanded — that State governments pick up the tab for minimum support price (MSP).
“During the Congress regime at the Centre, Arvind Kejriwal demanded that the Punjab government make MSP payouts to farmers. Bhagwant Mann also raised a lot of questions. Now, Mann is the chief minister. Will he respond to this [Kejriwal’s] demand?” said Mr. Thakur.
He said the Punjab government should maintain law and order and hoped farmers would not resort to violence and vandalism.