Scores of farmers on Saturday gathered in Punjab’s Mohali and Haryana’s Panchkula on the nationwide call of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), to submit demand charters through the respective Governors, to the President.
As farmers in Mohali (Punjab) - bordering Chandigarh (Union territory) and Panchkula (Haryana) marched towards Chandigarh, they were stopped by the police at the respective borders as a preventive measure. Later, the delegations of farmers from both the States were allowed to visit the Punjab Governor’s House and the Haryana Governor’s House to submit their memorandums.
Farmer leader Inderjit Singh from Haryana said the key demands included making a guarantee law on the Minimum Support Price with C2+50% formula, farm loan waiver, and the withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022, among others.
“We have gathered here to express our anguish over the Central government backing out from its assurances given on December 9, 2020, on the occasion of the suspension of the year-long farmers’ agitation. We caution both the State and the Centre to reverse all the anti-farmer policies and stop handing over the agriculture sector to the big corporate houses,” said Mr. Singh, in Panchkula.
In Mohali, farmer leaders in their addresses, evoked the importance of starting the second phase of the farmers’ struggle and emphasizing the need for building a nationwide farmer movement. “Learning from the history leading the role played by the people of Punjab in conquering the Delhi ‘morchas’, the people of Punjab will again have to come forward in support of the farmers’ long-pending demands. As long as the policies that please the foreign corporates and the repression of farmer-labourers and other oppressed sections of the society will continue, the struggle will continue,” said Darshanpal, a senior farmer leader.
