Meeting between protesting farmers, apex court-appointed panel remains inconclusive

Chandigarh, Nov 4 (IANS) Protesting farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) will continue protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders as their meeting with the Supreme Court-appointed committee on Monday remained inconclusive with farmers sticking to their stand to march to the national capital.

The meeting was held at Haryana Niwas here. The farmers had submitted a charter of 13 demands.

"We are still firm on our decision of February 13. The committee has listened to us, and we hope a solution will be found. Soon, a meeting of SKM will be called, and the future strategy will be decided," a farmer leader told the media after the meeting.

The farmers' union further informed that farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dhallewal would sit on hunger strike from the first day of the Parliament session.

"We want to go to Delhi via Haryana and get our demands accepted by the Central government. Our movement will continue regarding our 13 demands," said the farmer leader, who was part of the delegation that was called for a five-member committee led by Justice (retd) Nawab Singh.

The Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police of Haryana were also present during the meeting.

The purpose of the meeting was to understand the issues of the farmers and provide them with solutions, while the farmers have been protesting at Shambhu and Khanauri, both interstate borders along Punjab-Haryana, since February with their demands.

The farmers said "they are hoping that the meeting will bring positive results".

Besides former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Nawab Singh, the five-member panel comprises P.S. Sandhu, Devender Sharma, Professor of Eminence at GNCT, Amritsar; Sukhpal Singh, agricultural economist from Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana; and special invitee Professor B.R. Kambhoj, Vice-Chancellor of Chaudhary Charan Singh Agriculture University in Hisar.

The panel was formed in September to iron out various issues with the protesting farmers.

The apex court also directed the committee to reach out to the protesting farmers to remove their tractors, trolleys and other accessories from near the Shambhu border, enabling the administration of the two states to open the national highway to the public.

--IANS

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