500 Farmers To Stage Daily Tractor March Towards Parliament From Nov 29 To Mark One Year Of Protests

The planned tractor march is slated to be initiated days after the farmers' agitation against the contentious agrarian laws completes one year on November 26

Representative Photo

New Delhi: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Monday called upon all farmers to observe one year of the agitation against the contentious agrarian laws by marching towards the Parliament in the national capital.

500 farmers to participate in peaceful tractor march to Parliament every day during Winter Session, SKM stated, as reported by news agency PTI.

Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) had on Monday recommended that the Winter Session be held from November 29 to December 23.

The planned tractor march is slated to be initiated days after the farmers' agitation against the contentious agrarian laws completes one year on November 26.

The SKM, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions leading the agitation, announced the tractor march after it held a meeting in the national capital.

In a statement, the umbrella body said that it will observe one year of the movement on and after November 26 in a massive way all over India.

The SKM decided that from November 29 until the end of this Parliament session, 500 selected farmer volunteers will move every day to Parliament in tractor trollies peacefully and with full discipline, to assert their rights to protest in the national capital, the statement read, as reported by PTI.

This will be done to "increase the pressure" on the Union government "to force it to concede the demands for which farmers across the country have launched a historic struggle", it added.

Earlier in March this year, farmers had taken out a foot march to Parliament to oppose the three farm laws.

According to the SKM, there will be huge mobilisations from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan at all the Delhi borders on November 26. All unions in the amalgam will mobilise farmers in strength for this.

Huge public meetings will be held there (at borders) that day. Homage will be paid to more than 650 martyrs in this struggle so far, SKM stated.

The SKM has also called for massive mahapanchayats to be held in state capitals on November 26.

Hundreds of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, are encamped at Delhi borders since November last year demanding that the government repeal the three agrarian laws -- Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

They believe that these laws will leave them at the mercy of corporates and are also demanding that a new law to guarantee the minimum support price (MSP) for their crops be passed.

The Union government has maintained that the new laws are pro-farmer and will greatly benefit the agriculture sector. Earlier this year, 11 rounds of talks with farmers failed to break the deadlock as farmers remained adamant in seeking complete repeal of the legislation.

(With Agency Inputs)