Farmer unions, which are protesting over the minimum support price for sunflower seed, on Monday gave an ultimatum to the Haryana government till 10pm to hold talks with them or their agitation will continue.

They said that after the 10 pm deadline, the protest will be handed over to Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) for further decisions.

Earlier in the day, farmers blocked the Delhi-Chandigarh highway after holding a mahapanchayat in Kurukshetra to press for minimum support price for sunflower seed.

The “MSP Dilao, Kisan Bachao mahapanchayat”, called by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni), was held at a grain market in Pipli close to the National Highway-44.

After the mahapanchayat, the farmers gathered on the highway and blocked it. Police were diverting traffic from Delhi through the Kurukshetra bypass.

Apart from leaders of various khaps and Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, Olympic medal-winning wrestler Bajrang Punia, one of the grapplers who have been demanding action against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, were present at the mahapanchayat.

Farmers from Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan too attended the gathering.

At the mahapanchayat, farmer leader Karam Singh Mathana said the local administration had assured them of a meeting with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to discuss their demands. “But now they say the chief minister has left Karnal”.

“Because of this, the local committee, which organised the mahapanchayat, decided to block the National Highway-44 till our demands are met,” Mathana said. The highway also connects the Delhi-Kurukshetra-Amritsar route.

The Deputy Commissioner of Kurukshetra, Shantanu Sharma, told PTI that the district administration has been holding talks with BKU leaders since Sunday to resolve the issue of procuring sunflower seed on MSP.

“Even today we asked them to give us some time so that we can arrange a meeting with the chief minister. But the BKU leaders preferred to block the highway,” he said, adding that farmers were being asked to lift the blockade.

On June 6, farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni blocked National Highway-44 near Shahabad here demanding that the government procure sunflower seeds at minimum support price. Police used water cannons and resorted to lathicharge to disperse the protesters.

Later, nine BKU (Charuni) leaders, including its president, were arrested over various charges, including rioting and unlawful assembly.

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait, who attended the mahapanchayat on Monday, said the government should procure sunflower on MSP and the farmer leaders arrested in Shahabad should be released.

Addressing the mahapanchayat, Tikait announced that the Samyukta Kisan Morcha would start a pan-India agitation if a law for MPS, “as promised by the Union government”, is not brought.

The government announces MSP but fails to procure it at that rate, he alleged. Tikait condemned the police action against Churni and the farmers who on June 6 blocked National Highway-44 and asked, “What wrong has the BKU (Charuni) leader done when he sought MSP for sunflower crop.” He said though various farmers’ organizations attended the Pipli mahapanchayat under their own banners, they were all united in their fight for the farmers’ cause.

He said the issue of MSP for sunflower not only affects farmers in Haryana but those sowing various crops across the country as they have to make distress sale in the absence of an MSP law.

Addressing the mahapanchayat, some farm leaders criticised the government for its “anti-farmers” policies and police action against their leaders. They demanded the government procure sunflower seeds at MSP and that the protesters arrested in Shahabad recently be released.

The government is now refusing to procure sunflower on MSP fixed by the Centre. In the future they may refuse to buy other crops, including wheat and paddy, on MSP, they said.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had on Saturday released Rs 29.13 crore as interim compensation to 8,528 farmers for sunflowers grown on 36,414 acres. The farmers are demanding that the state government procure sunflowers at an MSP of Rs 6,400 per quintal.

Under the Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana — price difference payment scheme — the state government is giving Rs 1,000 per quintal as interim support for sunflower crop sold below MSP.

(With PTI inputs)