Will resume foot march to Delhi if no 'suitable solution' found in meeting with Centre on Feb 14: Pandher

Chandigarh: Punjab farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Monday said a group of farmers will resume their foot march to Delhi from the Shambhu border on February 25 if the Centre does not find a "suitable solution" to their demands in a meeting on February 14.

The Centre had invited the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha for talks to discuss their demands in a meeting to be held on February 14 at Chandigarh.

The two groups are spearheading the protest at Shambhu and Khanauri border points in support of various demands including a legal guarantee on minimum support price for crops.

In a statement here, Pandher said farmer leaders will attend the meeting with the central ministers on February 14 in Chandigarh.

If the government does not find a "suitable solution" in the meeting on February 14, a group of farmers will resume the foot march to Delhi on February 25.

He said farmers never shy away from holding talks.

A high-level delegation of the Centre, led by the joint secretary of the ministry of agriculture, Priya Ranjan, on January 18 invited the SKM (Non-Political) and the KMM for talks.

Pandher said a delegation of farmer leaders of the SKM (Non-Political) and the KMM will attend the meeting called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha for holding unity talks on February 12.

"We are in favour of complete unity," he said.

Meanwhile, the SKM (Non-Political) and KMM will hold 'Kisan Mahapanchayats' at Ratanpura in Rajasthan (February 11), Khanauri border (February 12) and Shambhu border (February 13).

The meetings are being organised to mark the completion of one year of the ongoing protest.

Farmers, under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, have been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 last year as security forces have stalled their multiple attempts to march to Delhi to press for their various demands.