Farmers Movement Archive

MP farmers organise marriage at Rewa mandi to send message to Centre

Two farmers solemnized the marriage of their son and daughter at a grain mandi in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district, over 500 km east of Bhopal, to send a symbolic message to the Central government. The Rewa Mandi has been the venue of a sit-in protest against the three Central farm laws for the past 75 days and the marriage was meant to convey that farmers were prepared for a marathon campaign till the repeal of the controversial laws, claimed farmer leaders.Samyukta Kisan Morcha leader Ramjeet Singh married off son Sachin to Asma Singh, daughter of farmer Vishnukant Singh of Cirrhata village of the district, on Thursday.The couple exchanged garlands and took pheras (a Hindu marriage ritual) around the idols of BR Ambedkar and Savitribai Phule. Later, they took an oath to protect the Constitution of India.“We want to give a message to the Central government that the farmers are staging a protest in every district and town of India. We will continue our protest till the withdrawal of all three new farm laws,” said Ramjeet Singh.Now, farmers have decided to organise and celebrate all family and social functions including marriages and festivals at the protest site only, he added.Farmers in several states have been protesting since November last year against the three new laws passed by the Parliament, alleging the laws would destroy the Mandi system and dilute the minimum support price (MSP) offered by the government for their produce, and leave them vulnerable to exploitation by the corporates. The government has refuted these allegations and said that the laws were necessary for increasing farmer incomes, unlocking the potential of the farm sector, including infrastructure development through private participation. Several rounds of talks between the government and the farmer representatives have failed to break the deadlock.

Hindustan Times

19-03-2021

Bhopal