'No Progress In Fulfiling Promises Made To Farmers': SKM To Hold Nationwide Protest On March 21
It was determined during a day-long closed-door meeting at the Gandhi Peace Foundation on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg in New Delhi.
New Delhi: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) will organise a nationwide demonstration on March 21 to protest against the Centre over its failure to fulfil its commitments, including the formation of a panel on MSP and the withdrawal of cases against farmers.
The decision to hold a protest was finalised at a day-long closed-door meeting at the Gandhi Peace Foundation at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg in New Delhi, PTI reported.
Senior SKM member Abhimanyu Kohar said the leaders and members of the outfit reviewed the progress made so far by the Centre on the promises made to farmers.
"There has been no progress in fulfilling the promises made by the Centre to farmers on the issue of forming a panel on MSP to make legislation on it, withdrawal of cases against farmers and expulsion of Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni from the Cabinet. So the SKM has decided to hold a nationwide protest at district and block level on March 21 against the central government for non-fulfilling promises," PTI quoted Abhimanyu Kohar as saying.
The SKM, a federation of 40 farm unions, had led a year-long protest against the Centre's three farm laws on the borders of the national capital.
It had suspended the agitation on December 9 last year after the government revoked the contentious laws and agreed to consider its six other demands.
The demands included the withdrawal of cases registered against farmers during the agitation, a legal guarantee on MSP and compensation for kin of farmers who died during the protest.
In a statement, the SKM said that farmers would observe 'MSP guarantee week' from April 11 to 17 as part of the next phase of its nationwide campaign.
The government's failure to follow through on its commitments to the farmers' movement, even after three months, reveals its anti-farmer intentions, according to the statement.
"It was unanimously decided that between April 11 and 17, a nationwide campaign would be launched by observing MSP Legal Guarantee Week. During this week, all the constituent organizations associated with the SKM will organize demonstrations and seminars, demanding a legal guarantee of MSP as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission," the statement said.
The SKM said except Haryana, the police cases registered against the farmers during the agitation in other states had not been withdrawn.
"There is no trace of the assurance of forming a committee on MSP. Delhi Police has spoken of partial withdrawal of some cases but there is no concrete information about that as well. The SKM has decided to organize a nationwide protest on March 21, regarding the role of the government in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, and the betrayal of the assurances given to the farmers' movement," the SKM statement said.
(With PTI Inputs)
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