Farmers Protest Day 5: Mallikarjun Kharge Slams Modi Government as 'Curse' for Farmers, Protestors urge the Centre to pass an ordinance providing a legal guarantee on MSP

Farmers persist with their 'Dilli Chalo' protest along the Punjab-Haryana border, marking the fifth day of the agitation on Saturday. Union ministers Arjun Munda, Nityanand Rai, and Piyush Goyal are set to hold the fourth round of talks with farmer leaders on Sunday after the first three rounds of talks remained inconclusive. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge hit out at the Union Government over the death of a protesting farmer.

Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday slammed the Center, calling the Narendra Modi-led Union Government a 'curse' for Indian farmers. Kharge accused the Centre of treating protesting farmers like enemies, asserting that only Congress could guarantee the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to the farmers. "The Modi government is a curse for the country's food providers, the farmers. Because of the continuous false 'Modi's Guarantee', 750 farmers lost their lives at first. Yesterday, one farmer gave his life and three lost their sight to rubber bullets. The Modi government has treated the farmers like enemies. Only Congress will provide them with the legal right to MSP!" posted the Congress President.

On Friday, a 63-year-old farmer participating in the protests died of a heart attack near Haryana's Ambala at the Shambhu border protest site. Identified as Gyan Singh, the farmer complained of chest pain. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital in Rajpura, Punjab and then was transferred to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, where doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival.

The protesting farmers' unions have outlined 13 demands, emphasizing the need for legal assurance on the MSP on their produce. While the government claims consensus on 10 demands, the MSP issue remains the main point of contention. Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Saturday urged the Centre to pass an ordinance providing a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price. "If the Center brings out an ordinance, it can bring it overnight, if it wants to. If the government wants a resolution of the farmers' protest, then it should bring an ordinance with immediate effect that it will enact a law on MSP, then discussions can proceed further," said Pander.

Several farmers sustained injuries during clashes with police while attempting to breach the barricades along the Shambhu Border. The protesting farmers have been stationed at the border areas. Organised by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha and Punjab Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee and led by Jagjeet Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher, the 'Delhi Chalo' protest march aims to pressurise the BJP-led government to address the farmers' demands commenced on February 13.