The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, on Saturday asked farmers to continue the protest against the Union government by participating in the Lucknow Kisan Mahapanchayat on 22 November even as Prime Minister has announced to repeal the three farm laws.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha said that the demand for a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price is crucial to the agitation.
“Kisan Andolan continues its struggle for all its rightful demands to be met by the Government of India,” the statement released by the farmers union on Saturday said.
“Samyukta Kisan Morcha appeals to all protesting farmers to continue with the announced programs with full energies put in. SKM appeals to farmers to make Lucknow Kisan Mahapanchayat a great success on November 22,” read the statement shared by the protesting body.
The SKM also asked the farmers to join in large numbers at all protest sites on the first anniversary of the historic farmers’ protest on 26 November.
“In various states that are far away from Delhi, the first anniversary on Nov. 26th will be marked by tractor and bullock cart parades in capital cities, along with other protests,” it added.
“Toll plazas will continue to remain freed up. Parliament March will happen as planned from November 29,” the SKM said.
The farmers further claimed that they had staged numerous protests in demand for a legally guaranteed remunerative Minimum Support Price for all agricultural produce for several years now.
“Demand for a statutory guarantee for a fair MSP is an integral part of the current agitation,” The SKM said in a statement.
The protesting farmers fear that the government plans to dismantle the Minimum Support Price regime under the guise of reforming the agricultural sector. The MSP is the guaranteed amount paid to farmers when the government buys their produce.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, also said that it was unhappy with the lack of action against Union minister Ajay Mishra, whose son Ashish Mishra is accused in the farmers’ killings in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur.
Ajay Mishra will be attending the directors-general of police conference in Lucknow with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and Sunday, the SKM noted.
On Friday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Union government will repeal the three new farm laws in the Winter Session of Parliament.
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi’s border entry points since November 2020, seeking the withdrawal of the farm laws.
Farmers protest in the borders of Delhi was, at times, lauded as the largest protest gathering in human history.
