Farmers Movement Archive

Talk to farmers or face bigger stir: Kisan body writes to PM

BATHINDA: Barely days before the farmers’ stir at Delhi borders completes six months, Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of farmer groups, wrote to PM Narendra Modi on Friday and urged him to resume talks with farmers. It has also threatened to intensify the protests after May 26 if there is no positive response from the government. The last round of talks between farmers’ representatives and Union ministers was held on January 22. The two sides had held 11 rounds of talks till they were suspended by the Centre. Union ministers had informed SKM that negotiations from their side had been completed, but farmers could approach the Centre any time. Modi too said his government was just a phone call away. The rift between farm unions and the Centre had deepened after the incidents of January 26 that led to arrests of several farm activists by Delhi police. Going by the spike in Covid-19 cases in the second wave, the SKM in its letter to Modi has highlighted that it does not want to put the protesting farmers at risk of health hazards and did not want to distract the Centre at this juncture. “Your government shut the doors for any dialogue since January 22. We have so far lost more than 470 colleagues due to this obstinacy on the part of your government,” the letter said. With this, SKM has put the ball in the Centre’s court. SKM reiterated its demands — repeal of the three new farm laws, legal guarantee for every farmer on MSP (C2+50%), besides protection from adverse impact of the proposed electricity bill.

The Times of India

2021-05-22

India