Farmers Movement Archive

Kisan Diwas on Dec 23, toll collection to be halted in Haryana from Dec 25: Farmers intensify stir

The farmers, protesting near Delhi seeking the repeal of contentious farm laws, are intensifying their stir by announcing they will halt toll collection in Haryana from December 25 to 27. Before that, the protesters will celebrate Kisan Diwas on December 23. The farmers have urged people to skip cooking their lunch to show their solidarity with the movement, ANI reported citing Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait. Meanwhile, Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj India Party who has been supporting the protests, announced that farmers will hold a 24-hour relay hunger strike starting December 21 at all protest sites.Farmers have been intensifying their demonstrations against the three farm laws enacted by Parliament in September as the unions said that they are seeing any pragmatic changes from the government’s side. “The government is delaying our matter unnecessarily. They should have repealed the laws by now and send the farmers back to their homes. Although the government has stated that before the new year begins there would be a solution, however pragmatically speaking, we are not seeing anything hopeful or even close to that,” ANI reported Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Manjit Singh Rai as saying.Several protesting leaders demanding the complete withdrawal of the laws also threatened to step up their agitation and said that they are prepared to celebrate the Republic Day next year with their own tractor rally on Delhi borders.The three farm laws have been projected by the government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandis, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. The Centre has repeatedly asserted that these mechanisms will remain.

Hindustan Times

20-12-2020

India