The chief minister called off his fast after he was convinced that violent incidents in various parts of the state had ceased and near normalcy had been restored there. But Chouhan spent the night in the shamiana set up for the fast, where he received several delegations of farmers and listened to their demands. Most of those who came, including the family members of the farmers killed in the police firing, requested him end the fast, but punish the officers responsible for opening fire and killing the innocent farmers.

While calling off his fast, the chief minister made several announcements. "Any purchase of farm produce below the MSP declared by the Centre would be considered a criminal act in Madhya Pradesh," he warned, promising that the government will ensure no agricultural land is acquired without the consent of the farmers.

He announced that a copy of 'Khasra' (land document) would be sent free of cost to the doorsteps of the farmers every year and that a state land use advisory service will be set up to ensure better and profitable use of agricultural land. He reiterated that the government was setting up a Rs 1,000-crore Price Stabilisation Fund to purchase farm produce at the MSP.

An Agricultural Costs and Marketing Commission would also be set up to ensure better prices of the farm produce vis-a-vis cost of cultivation, the chief minister said. Similarly, the farmers in the villages would get patta of the plot to construct their own houses, he said, adding the tribal people would also get the pattas of land which is under their possession.

But it appears that the announcements have not satisfied the farmers' organisations, spearheading the agitation, though the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh announced withdrawal of the stir.

Shiv Kumar Sharma, aka Kakkaji, who has become the face of the agitating farmers across the state, said the protest would continue till all the demands are met. "Hamara virodh anischit kal tak rahega (Our protest would continue for an indefinite period), Sharma told media. Sharma and other Kisan leaders have made it clear that waiving of loan is one of the most important demands. At present Madhya Pradesh government is not in a mood to concede this demand.

State Agriculture Minister Gauri Shanker Bisen has reiterated the state government's stand that under no circumstances will the demand of waiving the loan be accepted. But how long the government would be able to stick to their stand, especially when governments of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have decided to waive off farmers' loans, is anybody's guess. Just on the day Shivraj Singh Chouhan was on fast the BJP-led government in Maharashtra agreed "in principle" to a loan waiver for all sections of farmers. The criteria will be fixed by a committee of officials and agriculturists. Soon after, farmer groups, which had been agitating for the past 10 days and threatening to intensify it, called off their protest.

The Uttar Pradesh government has also decided to write off farmers' loans. The BJP had promised to waive farmers' loan in its manifesto issued on the eve of elections in UP.

Meanwhile, the Congress had decided to intensify the agitation to press for the farmers' demands. Party MP and chief whip in Lok Sabha Jyotriditya Scindia is going to stage a 72-hour satyagraha in Bhopal on June 14.

Though the leaders and members of the Bharatiya Janata Party described Chouhan's fast as a masterstroke, it has not impressed a large section of farmers and also people belonging to various sections of the society. Media persons talked to farmers who were brought to meet the chief minister, but in most cases they thought it was nothing but a gimmick.

Meanwhile, the police has started investigation into the incidents of violence and taken steps to book those who allegedly were responsible for the violent acts. Police claims that Kanhaiya Lal Patidar, one of the five farmers shot dead in Mandsaur district, was booked for drug trafficking four times and was absconding in one case. SP Manoj Singh told reporters that Patidar had been booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) several times.

Perhaps these details about the persons killed in police firing are being publicised to justify their killing and in support of the government argument that anti-social elements in the garb of farmers were involved in the agitation. (IPA Service)