The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has called for a nationwide farmers’ protest on March 21, accusing the Centre of “betraying the assurances given to the farmers’ movement” and protesting the government’s alleged role in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
In December, the protesting farmers’ unions under the SKM banner had suspended their year-long mass agitation on the borders of the capital after the Centre gave them a written commitment that a committee would be set up to consider their demand for a legal guarantee that all farmers would receive minimum support prices (MSP) for their produce. Other assurances included a withdrawal of cases against protesting farmers and compensation for the families of farmers who had died during the protest.
“The Morcha reviewed the written assurances given by the Government of India to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha on 9th December and found that even after three months, the government had not acted upon its key assurances,” an SKM statement issued after a meeting of its members said on Monday. “There is no trace of the assurance of forming a committee on MSP.” A week-long nationwide campaign on MSP is being planned from April 11 to 17. However, there is currently no plan to resume the mass agitation at the capital.
Last month, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the Rajya Sabha that the promised committee on MSP, crop diversification and other issues would be set up after the Assembly elections, which ended earlier this month, as the Election Commission had not permitted it until then.
The SKM added that except in Haryana, police cases registered against the farmers during the agitation in other States have not been withdrawn. “Delhi Police has spoken of partial withdrawal of some cases but there is no concrete information about that as well. Nothing has happened about the cases registered during Rail Rokos across the country,” it said.
With regard to the Lakhimpur Kheri cases, SKM alleged that a key witness had been attacked after bail was granted to accused Ashish Mishra, son of a Union Minister. Expressing concern that police and prosecutors were “trying to protect the criminals and implicate innocent farmers”, SKM promised full legal support to the families of the farmers killed in the violence.
