Farmers Movement Archive

Will believe agri law rollback once gazette is issued, say farmers at Mahapanchayat

Farm leaders said on Monday they will only believe that the three central farm laws, against which they have been protesting for almost a year, have been withdrawn once the government issued a gazette saying as much. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address to the nation on Gurpurab, announced the repeal of the agri laws and urged the farmers to withdraw their protests.At a kisan mahapanchayat convened by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of protesting farmer unions, the farmers also demanded the immediate resignation of Union home minister Ajay Mishra Teni, whose son Ashish has been arrested in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which at least four ryots were killed last month."We don't trust the announcement made by the Prime Minister. We will believe that the farm laws are taken back only after we see a government gazette regarding it," said farm leader Joginder Singh Ugaraha."Ajay Mishra's family is the main accused of the Lakhimpur incident. His son is in jail but the Modi government has not asked him to resign yet," said Singh.Over a thousand farmers from several districts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab have turned up at the kisan mahapanchayat being held at Eco Garden in Lucknow.Senior Bharat Kisan Union (BKU) leaders, including Rakesh Tikait and Balbir Singh Rajewala are addressing the gathering. Activist Yogendra Yadav is also attending the event.Tikait said the ongoing agitation along the borders of the national capital would continue until all farmers’ demands are met. “The government should bring a law to guarantee MSP (minimum support price) and announce 700 farmers who lost their lives during the struggle as martyrs," he said.Yadav said the Prime Minister is suffering from a disease of arrogance. "The people of Bengal gave him a small injection for this that proved effective slightly but he needs a bigger dose and that is the election of Uttar Pradesh," he said."I want to make this clear that the farmers' protest will continue till a law is formulated to guarantee MSP. The form of the protest will be decided by morcha," Yadav added.

Hindustan Times

22-11-2021

India