Ashish Ranjan
On Monday, thousands of farmers congregated at Ramlila Maidan for the Kisan Mahapanchayat, and a meeting between farmer leaders and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar ended without any legal assurances regarding the minimum support price (MSP).
A 15-member SKM delegation met with minister Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in the afternoon at Krishi Bhawan and presented a demand charter, according to farmer leader Darshan Pal.After the meeting, the delegation asserted that the Union minister told the farmers’ union, “The government has changed, and so must your campaign.”
Rakesh Tikat, a farmer leader, told India Today that during the meeting with farmer leaders, the government made its position plain.
“It is evident from the government’s position that MSPs will not be legally protected without agitation,” he stated.Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a coalition of farmers’ unions, will now begin preparations for “Kisan Andolan 2.0.” It will conduct another meeting on April 30 in Delhi, and all farmer’s unions have been asked to hold rallies and panchayats in their respective states prior to the meeting.
During the meeting with the Union government, a total of six issues were discussed, including the MSP guarantee law, the MSP committee, compensation for those who died during the farmers’ uprising, the withdrawal of cases against farmers involved in earlier agitation, the removal of Ajay Mishra Teni (for his connection to the killing of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri), and the Electricity Amendment Bill.
Previously, Morcha leader Darshan Pal stated that the Centre must uphold the written assurances it made and also take effective measures to mitigate the escalating crisis facing farmers.
The Morcha conducted a year-long protest against the now-repealed farm laws of the central government. The Morcha suspended the movement in December 2021 after the government promised to consider the farmers’ outstanding demands, such as the withdrawal of cases filed against farmers during the agitation and a legal guarantee for MSP.
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The farmers’ organisation has also implored the Centre to disband the MSP committee, alleging that it is in opposition to their demands.
