No end to agitation till repeal gets Constitutional validity: SKM
Darpan News Desk IANS, 19 Nov, 2021 11:05 AM
New Delhi, Nov 19 (IANS) Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced to repeal the three contentious farm laws, the protesting farmers' consortium declared that their agitation would end only after the laws are repealed in a Constitutional manner in the Parliament, and the government assures legal backing for MSP.
A nine-member committee of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the consortium of protesting farmers' bodies, will be meeting on Saturday, and it is likely to put forth four main demands.
The meeting will also decide whether the SKM will go ahead with the originally announced 'March Towards Delhi' programme on November 26.
"Today's announcement to repeal the three anti-farmer, anti-people and pro-corporate black laws is welcome, and a historic first victory for the farmers of India. Our demands would include paying tributes to the martyr farmers in the Parliament, legal validity and assurance for MSP, the Minimum Support Price, withdrawal of cases lodged against the agitating farmers across the country and compensation to the families of the farmers martyred during the agitation," the farmer leaders on the Ghazipur border said amid celebrations.
Coinciding with the auspicious occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning announced to repeal the three contentious farm laws passed by the Parliament last year and said the constitutional process to repeal the laws would be taken up in the Winter Session of the Parliament starting November 29. He also appealed to the agitating farmers to end the protests and return to their homes.
Modi also announced to form a committee comprising representatives of the Centre, state governments, farmers, agriculture scientists and agriculture economists to discuss how Minimum Support Price (MSP) can be made more effective, how zero budget farming can be promoted and how crop patterns can be changed in a scientific manner.
Hundreds of farmers have been protesting and camping at Delhi's entry points on all sides, with the Singhu border in north Delhi and the Ghazipur border in east Delhi being the focus points.
While the Singhu border camp has been the headquarter of the SKM, Rakesh Tikait of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) set up his camp on the Ghazipur border.
Tikait, who was in Maharashtra's Palghar on Friday, told mediapersons, "The PM has declared to repeal the three farm laws. But these need to be repealed in the Parliament, only then we will end our protest."
Earlier in the day, calling it a historic victory for the farmers who struggled "resolutely, unitedly, continuously and peacefully for one year so far in the historic farmers' struggle", the SKM had termed Modi's announcement as a welcome step in the right direction.
"The farmers' struggle has led to a reinstatement of democracy and the federal polity in India. Several important demands are pending. Sacrifice of more than 675 farmers in this movement will not be allowed to go waste," a statement from SKM said.
The SKM said that it hopes that "the government of India, which has experienced a major climbdown in this repeal-related announcement, will not allow the announcement to go waste, and will go the full length to fulfil all the legitimate demands of the protesting farmers, including statutory legislation to guarantee a remunerative MSP".
The world's largest vaccination drive against Covid-19 is being conducted in India, "and it will be a special occasion to celebrate when we complete administering 100 crore doses of vaccines", said the source.
Bhartiya Kisan Union Tikait district vice president Balkar Singh had already made it clear that, "No political leader will be allowed to share the stage where only Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders will be present."
The incident took place on Tuesday during a demonstration by the BJP in front of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader's official residence over the Delhi Disaster Management Authority's (DDMA) order restricting celebration of Chhath Puja in the national capital.
The minister and his son are accused in the October 3 incident in which nine persons, including four farmers, were mowed down by SUVs. The minister's son Ashish Mishra has already been arrested.
It's likely that Sidhu will put forth the list of demands in the Punjab government as he is upset with the appointments in the government. He has resigned from the post of state president, but it has not been accepted yet by Sonia Gandhi. The meeting gains significance as it comes ahead of the CWC meeting.
The civil secretariat houses the top offices of the government, including those of the Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha and his advisors. Police tried to intervene to restrain the mourners from carrying out the sit-in outside the civil secretariat.
