Farmers Movement Archive

Protest planned at Nagpur, Vid farmers indifferent

Nagpur: Swabhimani Paksha leader Raju Shetti, who had mobilized farmers’ one-day protest in Mumbai on Tuesday, plans to hold an agitation in Nagpur also. Shetti told TOI, the protest may happen by this month-end or January first week. The state’s farmers are being mainly led by Swabhimani Paksha and Akhil Bharitya Kisan Manch — the peasants’ wing of Communist Party Marxist (CPM). Apart from the protests in Mumbai, a batch of 8,000 farmers has left for Delhi to join the main agitation there. Sources said majority of them are from Nashik, while some are from other districts across the state. Shetti said there were plans to send another batch of farmers to Delhi. However, they are being stopped at Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh border itself. Sources in the outfits mobilizing the farmers agreed that the response to the stir was lukewarm in the region as it may not immediately affect Vidarbha’s farmers. Yashvant Zade of All India Kisan Sabha said, “A large number of farmers from Nashik district came out because the outfit has a strong base in the area.” The Sabha is conducting meetings in rural areas of Vidarbha too, but the farmers here have not been much enthusiastic so far, he said. Zade said he had no communication about the agitation planned in Nagpur, though he may get an intimation soon. Shetti added that farmers want the government to make purchase and minimum support price (MRP) mandatory, rather than going for market intervention when rates fall.

The Times of India

2020-12-24

Nagpur