In a letter to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of 32 farm unions, the KMM expressed its commitment to full unity and agreed to SKM’s primary demand — opposing the new draft of the National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing (NPAFM) — as part of the 12-point demand charter of protesting unions.
Addressing a press conference at the Shambhu border, KMM coordinator Sarwan Singh Pandher said that the KMM initiated unity talks and would not back out.
“We have already protested against the NPAFM and fully support its opposition. We seek maximum unity, and now the decision rests with the SKM,” Pandher stated.
SKM (Non-Political) leaders also confirmed their participation in the February 12 meeting in Chandigarh.
The KMM and SKM (Non-Political) have been stationed at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February 13 last year after security forces blocked their march to Delhi to demand a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) and other issues.
Previous unity meetings held in Patran on January 13 and 18 remained inconclusive due to disagreements over including the NPAFM in the 12-point demand charter.
When asked about the delay in responding to SKM’s unity invitation, Pandher cited preparations for upcoming “mahapanchayats” but reiterated KMM’s commitment to unity.
Pandher warned that if the February 14 negotiations with the Union government fail, farmers will attempt to cross the Haryana border on February 25 to reach Delhi. “A group of 101 farmers will attempt to cross the border from the Shambhu protest site,” Pandher stated.
The Centre will hold a meeting with protesting farmers on February 14 in Chandigarh to discuss their demands. The breakthrough came after a delegation of officials from the Union agriculture ministry, led by joint secretary Priya Ranjan, met veteran farm leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal and held a meeting with the representatives of SKM (Non-Political) and KMM.
Four rounds of meetings had taken place between the central ministers and protesting farmers on February 8, 12, 15 and 18 last year, but all remained inconclusive.
