Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) also convened on December 8.
New Delhi:
Farmers unions will hold marches across the country to Raj Bhavans on Saturday to mark the two-year anniversary of their agitation against three center farm bills that have since been scrapped.
The marches will also register farmers’ protest against the government’s failure to fulfill several promises, farmer leaders said on Friday.
Farmer leaders claimed that the government had informed them in writing that it would hold a discussion and draft a law for the minimum support price (MSP) of crops, but nothing has been done so far.
Thousands of farmers, particularly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, protested for more than a year at the borders of the national capital, demanding the repeal of the three agricultural laws. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in November that he would withdraw the three laws.
The protest was subsequently called off.
“They gave us written consent and agreed to our many demands, but nothing has been done. The government has proven that it is a traitor who has defrauded the farmers of the land. They protect the companies. They have proven that they do not care plan to comply with our demands,” Hannan Mollah, leader of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), told PTI by phone.
Mr Mollah is in Lucknow to attend the protest march on Saturday.
The SKM, a body of farmers’ unions that led the agitation against the farm laws, also convened a meeting on December 8 to determine the future course of the movement.
“We have seen that the government is not willing to listen to the people. We have started another movement. Tomorrow we will hold rallies all over the country. This time our movement is not limited to Delhi, but the whole country. The farmers will go to the Raj Bhavan of their respective states and hand over a memorandum from the governor,” Mr. Mollah said.
The farmers’ organization claimed that neither the committee for MRP had been properly formed nor that the “false” cases registered against farmers during the agitation had been withdrawn.
When announcing the repeal of the three agricultural laws last November, Prime Minister Modi had promised to set up a committee to discuss farmers’ demands for a legal guarantee on MSP.
The SKM rejected the government commission for MSP, saying “so-called farmer leaders” who supported now-repealed farm laws are members and do not talk about ensuring farmers’ legal rights.
Meanwhile, SKM (non-political) member Abhimanyu Singh Kohar said that the government has no intention of meeting the farmers’ demand and another move is needed.
“We have realized that the government has no intention of complying with our demands. Rather, they agreed to comply with our demands to end the protest,” said Kohar.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NewsMadura staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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