Farmer organisations have slammed the Centre for not holding talks with protesting farmers and have decided to hold a march towards Delhi from under the Maha Maya flyover in Noida.
New Delhi: The national capital is on high alert as the Bhartiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) leader Sukhbir Khalifa on Sunday announced that the members of the farmer organisation will commence their march towards Delhi tomorrow, December 2, to demand compensation and benefits under the new agricultural laws. Here’s all you need to know about the fresh protest call from farmers and how Delhi is preparing for it.
“We are ready for our march towards Delhi. Tomorrow, on December 2, we will start our march towards Delhi from under the Maha Maya flyover (In Noida). At noon, all of us will reach there and demand our compensation and benefits as per the new laws,” Sukhbir Khalifa told news agency ANI.
In addition, other farmer organisations, including the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM, non-political), have planned their marches towards Delhi on foot starting from December 6.
Earlier, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) General Secretary Sarwan Singh Pandhair informed that the farmers protesting at the Shambhu border (Punjab-Haryana border) will also march towards Delhi on December 6 to press their demands, including a guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP).
On October 26, farmers gathered in large numbers from Badhrukha in Sangrur district to protest against the government and press on their multiple demands including timely paddy procurement. These protests resulted in the blocking of national highways in the Phagwara, Sangrur, Moga, and Batala areas of Punjab.
Demands from protesting farmers
The farmers staging protests have more on their agenda than just seeking a legally established Minimum Support Price (MSP). Their list of demands include clearance of farm loans, provision of pensions for farmers and farm workers, halt in the rise of electricity charges, withdrawal of legal charges and demanding justice for those affected in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri incident. Besides these, they are demanding to reinstate the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, plus they want compensations for families who unfortunately lost their farmer kin during the tumultuous 2020-21 protests.
Meanwhile, Haryana Agriculture Minister Shyan Singh Rana criticised the upcoming farmer’s march to Delhi, arguing that they lack legitimate issues.
“They have no issues. The previous farmers’ agitation had an issue- the three farm laws. Those three laws were later repealed by PM Narendra Modi and he even apologised to them. The farmers’ agitation has caused losses to Punjab,” Shyan Singh Rana told reporters in Karnal.
“Rice miller industries from Punjab moved to Bihar and Madhya Pradesh… We will not let anyone play with the law and order situation in Haryana… They should talk to their Chief Minister and sort out their problems,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)