New Delhi, May 29 -- Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is likely to inform farm unions that the Centre cannot keep Punjab government out of ongoing talks on guaranteed minimum support prices (MSP) for crops, as demanded by the participating farmers' representatives, an official aware of the development said. This comes weeks after the Centre had to cancel a meeting scheduled on May 4 with farmer unions after the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) wrote to Chouhan, demanding that the Centre shouldn't invite representatives of the Punjab government to the talks. "In a federal structure, the Centre cannot keep out the state government. The presence of the state government is important," the official cited above said. The development could lead to a fresh logjam between the Centre and farm unions on the latter's demand for legally assured floor prices for farm produce. In a letter to the agriculture ministry on April 27, the farm leaders said that after the March 19 talks, the Punjab government "betrayed" their trust by arresting several leaders who were returning from the meeting. They also accused the Punjab Police of using harsh force against protesting farmers at Shambhu and Khanauri border points. The letter was signed by farm leaders Abhimanyu Kohar, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Sukhjit Singh Hardojhande, Sarwan Singh Pandher, and Sukhwinder Kaur, among others. MSPs are a federally fixed floor price for farm commodities aimed at preventing distress sales. The government buys cereals at MSP rates, which therefore become a benchmark price for private traders. MSPs are largely effective for cereals because the government only buys food grains in sufficiently large quantities. "We are in the process of consultations on our next steps. The Punjab government has been harassing farmers without provocation. They have in the past arrested farmers returning from official talks with central ministers," said Resham Singh, a leader of the SKM (Non-Political)....