NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: Showing no sign of softening, the farmers' organisations announced that they are sticking to their scheduled protests in Lucknow on Monday, along with the Mahapanchayat in Luknow to press for legislation to guarantee the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Meanwhile, the Central government is preparing to bring a bill in Parliament to meet their demand for repeal of three agricultural laws.
Official sources said on Sunday that if the bills related to the repeal of three agricultural laws are approved, they are likely to be considered by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday so that they can be introduced in the forthcoming winter session of Parliament. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is leading the movement, said it would continue its scheduled protests, including a march to Parliament on November 29 to mark the one-year anniversary of anti-agriculture protests.
The decision was taken by the body of agitating farmers' organisations at its first meeting after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the repeal of three agricultural laws in his address to the nation on Friday. While doing so, farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said, "We discussed the announcement of repeal of agricultural laws. After that, some decisions were made. SKM's pre-scheduled programmes will continue as usual. Kisan Panchayat will be held in Lucknow on Monday, Sabha on all borders on November 26 and March till Parliament on November 29.
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The organisation said that SKM will meet again on November 27 to consider further action. The agitating farmers of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been sitting at three places on the borders of Delhi since November last year demanding withdrawal of the three laws. They say they will not return until their demands are met.
Opposition parties blamed the government for the situation. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that people, who have suffered 'false sentences' in the past are not ready to believe the Prime Minister's statement to repeal agricultural laws. The Samajwadi Party (SP) also expressed doubts about the intentions of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regarding the Centre's announcement as it was done keeping an eye on the forthcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2022.
The SP tweeted from its official Twitter handle, "Their hearts are not clear, they will bring the bill again after the election." Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh also said a similar thing. He said that the work of withdrawing the three agricultural laws has been delayed, but more than 700 farmers have died during this period. Who will take the responsibility for these deaths? Even now people do not trust this decision, because leaders of BJP are saying that these laws will be brought again.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut demanded that financial assistance should be given from the 'PM Cares Fund' to the relatives of more than 700 farmers, who lost their lives during the year-long protests against the three agricultural laws. Raut said that the government has now realised its mistake and has withdrawn the agricultural laws.
There are demands from different parts of the country that compensation be given to the kin of the farmers, who lost their lives. Opposition parties have continued to support the agitating farmers even on the issue of minimum support price. Rakesh Tikait, leader of the Farmers Union, urged the people in Lucknow to join the 'MSP Adhikar Kisan Mahapanchayat', which is being considered as an exercise by farmers' organisations to show their strength. He tweeted in Hindi, 'Chalo Lucknow-Chalo Lucknow. The agrarian reforms being talked about by the government are fake and artificial. These reforms are not going to stop the misery of the farmers. The biggest improvement would be to legislate a minimum support price for agriculture and farmers."
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Farmer leaders are also demanding the removal of Union Home Minister of State Ajay Mishra, whose son was arrested in October in connection with the death of four farmers in an incident at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh. Harnam Singh Verma, vice-president of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BKU, said that the Prime Minister has announced the repeal of three agricultural laws, but he did not say when the MSP law will be enacted. The agitation will continue till the MSP law is enacted.
Lucknow Police Commissioner DK Thakur said that security arrangements have been made for the programme. Meanwhile, reports from various districts have said that groups of farmers are going to Lucknow to join the Mahapanchayat. Sukhwinder Singh, the father of Gurwinder Singh, who was among the four farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, said that he would be present in the Mahapanchayat, along with other farmers.
Shekhar Dixit, president of Rashtriya Kisan Manch, who is going to participate in the Mahapanchayat with his supporters, said that the sacrifices of hundreds of farmers will not be allowed to go in vain.
