Farmers Movement Archive

Farm leaders contesting polls will not be part of SKM, say senior leaders

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella union of multiple farm organisations, on Saturday held a meeting at Singhu-Kundli border and took some decisions.In a joint statement, SKM leaders Darshan Pal, Yogendra Yadav, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Shivkumar Sharma ,Yudhveer Singh and others said no political party or farm leader can use the banner of SKM in the assembly polls, which are due next month.“If any farm leader or SKM member contests the upcoming assembly polls, he/she will no longer be a part of the SKM. If needed, this decision will be reviewed in April after the assembly polls,” said Yogendra Yadav while talking to HT over the phone.The SKM’s decision seems to be a blow for the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha led by farm leader Balbir Singh Rajewal, whose is the outfit’s chief ministerial candidate in the Punjab assembly polls.He is contesting from Samrala and the outfit had released a list of 10 nominees. This decision can also hurt the prospective of Haryana farm leader Gurnam Singh Charuni, who had also launched his political outfit and is aiming to field candidates in the Punjab assembly polls.‘Centre, state betraying farmers’The SKM leaders alleged that the Union government has failed to fulfil its promises made to the five-member committee of SKM on December 9.“No action has been taken by the Union and state governments of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh on the promise of immediate withdrawal of cases registered during the farm agitation. The Haryana government has also just done some paperwork. Rest of the state governments have not even received a letter from the Union government in this regard,” SKM leader Yudhveer Singh said while interacting with reporters at Singhu.“The UP government has not initiated any action on giving compensation to the deceased farmers’ families. No announcement has been made by the Haryana government regarding the amount and nature of compensation,” the SKM leader said.“On the issue of MSP, the government has neither announced formation of a committee nor has it given any information about the nature of the committee and its mandate,” he added.SKM announces future plansThe SKM leaders announced that they will observe ‘betrayal day’ on January 31 across country and protest demonstrations will be organised at district and block levels.“Despite a conspiracy being acknowledged in the SIT report, Union minister of state Ajay Mishra Teni is yet to be removed from the Union cabinet. The UP Police have implicated farmers in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri incident,” the SKM leaders said in a joint statement.“To oppose this, the SKM has decided to start a permanent morcha at Lakhimpur Kheri. Mission Uttar Pradesh will continue, through which, anti-farmer politicians will be taught a lesson,” the SKM leaders added.The SKM leaders have decided to extend support to central trade unions for nationwide strike on February 23 and 24 on issues of withdrawal of the four anti-labour codes, MSP to farmers, and against privatisation.

Hindustan Times

16-01-2022

Chandigarh