Samyukt Kisan Morcha meet tomorrow at Singhu Border
Darpan News Desk IANS, 14 Jan, 2022 02:59 PM
New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS) The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) will hold a review meeting at their Singhu Border camp site to decide the future course of action for the agitation that was suspended after three farm laws were repealed in December first week.
The SKM, a consortium of 40-odd farmers' organisations, had on December 9, 2021 declared to suspend their 15-month long agitation that was started to protest the three contentious farm laws passed by the Parliament in 2020.
The agitation had continued even after the three laws - the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020 - were repealed by the Parliament as the farmers' stuck to their other demands vis-a-vis legal backing for minimum support price (MSP) for all farmers being the prime demand after repeal of the three laws.
Almost six weeks after that, there has been "no word" about the formation of the committee on MSP and other issues.
"The meeting will be held at 11 am tomorrow," a SKM spokesperson confirmed on Friday.
Farm leader and Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait had told IANS two weeks ago that the government had not sought any names as representatives from the farming community.
There has been "no talk" about withdrawing cases lodged against agitating farmers too.
While the Centre's announcement to repeal three farm laws is seen as a political decision with eye on forthcoming assembly polls in five states, the BJP claims that it has nothing to do with elections as the party has won many states after laws were passed by the Parliament.
On January 12 this year, the Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of the three farm laws after scores of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh pitched their tents on various Delhi borders in protest against the three laws.
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.
Congress legislator and Punjab unit party president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday said the minimum support price (MSP) is the bigger issue than farm laws as it is the lifeline of farmers.
Extending his greetings to the people on Prakash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev, the Chief Minister said it was really a matter of great honour to inaugurate this prestigious project which happens to coincide with Gurpurab.
Three employees of Air India, accused of having a role in the smuggling of gold, have been arrested, officials said on Friday. They have been accused of having a hand in a recent incident wherein 1.5 kg gold -- stored beneath an aircraft's seat -- was seized.
