Farmers Movement Archive

BJP to launch 3-day sit-in in Singur today to press for 7-point-demand charter for farmers

The Bharatiya Janata Party will on Tuesday launch a three-day sit-in at West Bengal's Singur to corner the Mamata Banerjee government over the plight of farmers in the state.The sit-in has been called to press for a seven-point charter of demands for farmers, including seeking a minimum support price (MSP) for their produce and reduction of value added tax (VAT) on fuel.Other demands include abolition of middle-men and fair price for farmers’ produce, besides lowering of power tariff, news agency cited BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya as saying on Sunday.The charter of demands also mentions a package for farmers who suffered heavy losses in unseasonal rains and making ‘kisan mandis’ functional in different blocks.Also read | Tikait, other farm leaders to attend agitation’s ‘Sampan Samaroh’ at Jind, Hisar todaySamik Bhattacharya said Singur, located in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, has been chosen as the site of protest as it was where Mamata Banerjee launched an anti-land acquisition movement 14 years ago, considered one of her most prominent political battles.“But, now she has forgotten about the farmers after coming to power, and there has been no industrial growth in the state during her tenure,” he claimed.On Saturday, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar along with several members of the Kisan Morcha and handed over the list of demands to him.Meanwhile, farmers' agitation against the three central farm laws ended last week, after the Centre accepted all their demands, including the repeal of the laws and a legal guarantee on MSP.On November 29, Parliament passed the Farm Laws Repeal Bill on the first day of the Winter Session. President Ram Nath Kovind also gave his assent to the bill that completed the process of repealing the three farm laws.

Hindustan Times

14-12-2021

Kolkata