New Delhi, Jul 12
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Tuesday said it will hold a panchayat on August 22 to protest against the government over the issues of MSP, Agnipath scheme and Lakhimpur violence.
A meeting of the SKM, which had spearheaded the agitation against the now-scrapped farm laws, was held here and it was decided that the farmers’ collective will not allow any political outfit to associate with it and will remain completely apolitical.
The SKM claimed that some people had written to the Centre over the MSP issue last year in September without taking the other SKM members into confidence.
In the letter, some members, wrote that the government should repeal The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and should make The Farmers (Empowerment and protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, a model act, left to the discretion of state governments. while the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 be stayed.
“After this came out, we decided to have no relation with them. They tried to sell out the movement. Today, the whole SKM is here. We have never allowed political parties or leaders to be associated with us and that will continue. We call upon non-political farmer organisations to join us and take the movement ahead,” an SKM leader told reporters here.
The SKM also demanded that all the cases filed against farmers be withdrawn.
It reiterated that the farmer leaders who contested the Punjab elections earlier this year, are not a part of the umbrella body.
During the meeting on Tuesday, it was also decided that a panchayat will be held at the Jantar Mantar here on August 22 over the issues of MSP, Agnipath scheme and Lakhimpur violence, he said. The next meeting of SKM will be held on August 23.
The SKM decided that it will continue to agitate over the issue of the legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP). The farmers’ body is also demanding that India quit the WTO.
A WTO panel, on December 14, 2021, recommended India withdraw its allegedly prohibited subsidies under production assistance, buffer stock, and marketing and transportation schemes within 120 days from the adoption of the report.
Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri during a violence that erupted on October 3 last year when farmers were protesting against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit to the area.
Samyukta Kisan Morcha to hold panchayat on August 22 on MSP, Agnipath
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