NEW DELHI: A year after the Centre repealed three controversial farm bills, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has announced that it will hold nationwide marches to Raj Bhavans on November 26 in protest against the alleged breach of assurance by the Centre on their pending demands.
SKM, an umbrella body of farmers’ unions, which spearheaded the one-year-long agitation against the farm laws, has also called a meeting on December 8 to decide the future course of the movement.
“The march to Raj Bhavans across India marks the beginning of the next phase of the farmers’ protest.
Hence, SKM appeals to all farmers to prepare for and join continuous struggles till our demands including ‘freedom from indebtedness and full remunerative price’ are fulfilled by the government,” said SKM leader Darshan Pal at a press conference in the capital.
The meeting was attended by other Union leaders Hannan Mollah, Yudhvir Singh, Avik Saha and Ashok Dhawale. The farmer’s body will celebrate 19 November as ‘Fateh Diwas’ or victory day, on which the government gave in to the demand of the protesting unions. It will hold marches to the offices of all Lok Sabha and Raj Sabha MPs, and MLA’s of all state Assemblies from December 1 to 11.
It also demanded legal action against Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni, whose son is prime accused in running over and killing farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. “We also demand payment of compensation to families of all farmers who were martyred during SKM movement, along with the major local demands of the respective states,” said Pal.
SKM also criticised the Union government for not implementing the written assurances made on 9 December 2021 on legally guaranteed MSP, and withdrawal of the Electricity Bill among others.
The leaders also said that the farmers suspended their historic struggle at the Delhi Borders and returned home on 11 December 2021 on the basis of the assurance given by the government.
The farmer’s body also alleged that neither the committee on MSP had been formed, nor the “false” cases registered against farmers during the agitation were withdrawn. “Legally guaranteed MSP for all crops and freedom from indebtedness are the major demands the farmers have been fighting for since the rollout of neo-liberal policies that aggravated the agrarian crisis and peasant suicides,” said Mollah.
The leaders also said that it has decided to intensify the protests in the coming weeks in view of the callous response of the Union Government to the just and fair demands of farmers. “A plan of action to intensify the protests has been decided for the coming weeks with the focus on massive protest-gatherings beginning from village level and spreading across the country,” said Pal.
It was on 26 November in 2020 that SKM launched the one-year long ‘March to Delhi’ protest.