Farmers To March To Raj Bhavans Across Country On Saturday To Mark Two Years Of Farm Law Protests

The SKM, a body of farmer unions that led the campaign against the Agri laws, has also summoned a meeting for December 8 to decide the movement's future direction.

Farmer unions will march to Raj Bhavans throughout the country on Saturday to commemorate two years since they began their agitation against three farm legislation enacted by the Centre and since repealed. The marches will also represent farmers' protest over the government's failure to keep various promises, news agency PTI reported citing farmer leaders. 

Farmer leaders said that the government promised them in writing that it would convene a discussion and pass a law establishing a minimum support price (MSP) for crops, but that nothing has happened so far.

Thousands of farmers, primarily from Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting outside the national capital's boundaries for over a year, seeking the repeal of the three farm laws. In November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the repeal of the three laws.

Following that, the protest was called off.

"They gave us in writing and agreed to all of our demands, but nothing has happened. The government has proven to be a traitor by defrauding the country's farmers. They are defending the corporations. They have demonstrated that they have no intention of meeting our demands," Hannan Mollah, leader of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), was quoted as saying by PTI.

Mollah is in Lucknow to attend the protest march on Saturday.

The SKM, a body of farmer unions that led the campaign against the Agri laws, has also summoned a meeting for December 8 to decide the movement's future direction.

"We have seen that the government is not ready to listen to the people. We have started another movement. Tomorrow we are holding rallies across the country. This time our movement is not limited to Delhi but the entire country. The farmers will march to the Raj Bhavan of their respective states and hand over a memorandum of the governor," Mollah added.

The farmers' group said that neither the MSP committee nor the "false" cases filed against farmers during the agitation were properly created.

Prime Minister Modi promised to form a committee to address farmers' demand for a legal guarantee on MSP when he announced the repeal of the three farm laws in November last year.

The SKM has rejected the government's MSP committee, claiming that its members are "so-called farmer leaders" who supported now-repealed farm regulations and do not speak about ensuring farmers' legal rights.

(With Inputs From PTI)