Hoshiarpur/Chandigarh: Farmers from various organisations under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Sunday took out a tractor parade at multiple locations across Punjab in support of their demands.
These demands include a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP), which is based on the C2 plus 50 per cent formula given by the Swaminathan committee, a comprehensive loan waiver scheme for farmers and farm workers, no privatisation of electricity, withdrawal of the National Policy Framework on Agriculture Marketing (NPFAM), and debt waiver, among others.
Hundreds of farmers, including senior SKM leaders, took part in the tractor marches to highlight the farmers’ demands.
At some places, black flags were prominently displayed on their tractors.
SKM had called upon farmers to conduct tractor/motorcycle parades on January 26, the Republic Day, at the district/sub-division level across the country.
“In order to achieve all the pending demands, a massive, determined and countrywide struggle larger than the historic farmers’ struggle at the Delhi Borders of 2020-21 in participation, intensity and pan-India form have to be planned,” SKM said in a recent statement.
On the other hand, the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) along with the SKM (Non-Political), which is spearheading the ongoing farmers’ protest at Khanauri and Shambhu border points for the past 11 months, also held a protest at different places in the state in which farmers owing allegiance to these outfits parked their tractors outside corporates-owned big shopping malls and silos as part of tractors march call on January 26.
KMM leaders said the protest aimed at showing solidarity with small traders and businessmen who are allegedly being marginalised by the corporate entities. It was also to express solidarity with farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal.
Notably, a high-level delegation of the Central government, led by joint secretary of the ministry of agriculture, Priya Ranjan, had recently invited SKM (Non-Political) and the KMM for talks to discuss their demands in a meeting to be held on February 14 at Chandigarh.
After this, senior leader of SKM (Non-Political) Jagjit Singh Dallewal took medical aid but he did not end his indefinite fast which he began from November 26 over various demands of farmers.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by SKM on Saturday, had said a six-member committee of the SKM will strive to coordinate actions with the SKM(Non-Political)-KMM “provided there is issue-based unity on the demands, especially on NPFAM”.
A coordination meeting with these platforms will be held on February 12 in Chandigarh.
Speaking to reporters in Mohali and Samrala in Punjab on Sunday on the sidelines of tractor marches, senior SKM leader Harinder Singh Lakhowal and Balbir Singh Rajewal warned that if the Centre does not accept their demands, they will be holding a big agitation.
