Farmer leader Kanwalpreet Singh Pannu said they are ready for talks with the government but their main demand is the scrapping of the three farm laws.
Farmer leaders on Saturday announced that they will intensify their agitation against the central farm laws and that all their union leaders will sit on a hunger strike on December 14. The announcement comes at a time when farmers' agitation enters the 17th day, with no end in sight to the deadlock between farmers and the government.
Demanding the complete withdrawal of the three farm laws, farmer leader Kamal Preet Singh Pannu told reporters at Singhu border, "If the government wants to hold talks, we are ready, but our main demand will remain the scrapping of the three laws. We will move onto our other demands only after that."
"On December 14, all farmer leaders will sit on a fast sharing same stage at Singhu border. We want government to take back three farm bills, we’re not in favour of amendments," Pannu said.
He also announced that thousands of farmers will start their 'Delhi Chalo' march from Rajasthan’s Shahjahanpur through the Jaipur-Delhi Highway at 11am on Sunday. Pannu said that farmers from other parts of the country are also on their way to join the protesters here and they will take the agitation to the next level in the coming days.
"Centre wants to thwart our movement, but we will not allow this," he added.
The move to intensify the stir comes on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a FICCI event assured the farmers that his government was committed to their welfare and that the legislations were aimed at giving them alternate markets to boost income.
Meanwhile, Haryana Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala met Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday. Chautala said, "The way Centre is holding talks they also want a resolution of the issue. I’m hopeful that in 24 to 48 hours, final round of talks will be held between the Central government and farmers' leaders and will lead to conclusive results."
The farmers' unions have been protesting since November 26, demanding an immediate withdrawal of the three farm laws.
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 "Kamal Preet Singh Pannu, Leader Sanyukta Kisan Andolan")
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