Farmer unions to intensify stir, organise nationwide protests
Neeraj Mohan
New Delhi, July 22
Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leaders have announced to intensify their agitation for the acceptance of their demands, including a law guaranteeing minimum support price (MSP) for various crops.
The decision was taken at a joint conference here that witnessed participation by over 150 leaders from various organisations across the country.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions across the country, had earlier announced to re-launch its agitation for the acceptance of farmers’ pending demands.
Prominent speakers at the conference included former Union Agriculture Minister Sompal Shastri, agriculture expert Devendra Sharma and former Chairman of the Karnataka Agriculture Price Commission Prakash Kammareddy. They elaborated on the need for a law on MSP for ensuring fair prices for farmers’ produce.
During the conference, several resolutions were passed to intensify the farmers’ movement, including a nationwide march on August 1, under which farmers will march to various district headquarters across the country, burn effigies of BJP leaders in protest against the delay in enacting a law on MSP and awarding President’s Medal to officers accused of killing farmers. On August 15, district-level tractor marches will be organised across the country.
They also announced to hold grand panchayats on August 31 to commemorate the 200th day of Farmers’ Movement 2.0 and village-level outreach by organising farmer panchayats across the country. The first one will be held at Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh on September 1. It will be followed by similar events at Uchana Mandi in Jind on September 15 and at Pipli Mandi in Kurukshetra on September 22.
After the farmers’ conference, several Members of Parliament, including Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Varun Chaudhary, Jayaprakash JP, Arvind Sawant, Rajkumar Rota, Syed Agha Ruhullah Mehdi, Vikramjit Sahni, Malvinder Kang, Amar Singh and Iqra Hassan met farmer leaders at the Constitution Club.
