SKM's crucial Saturday meet to decide agitation's future course
Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 Dec, 2021 11:51 AM
New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) Days after the Parliament repealed the three contentious farm laws, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) will be holding a crucial meeting on Saturday to discuss whether to end the over-an-year- old agitation, among other issues.
Reiterating their demands from before the government announced to repeal the laws, the SKM - a consortium of 40-odd farmers' agitation - has been demanding legal backing for, among others, Minimum Support Price (MSP), withdrawal of cases against the farmers' families since last year, and compensation to the farmers' families that died in the last one year during agitation.
The meeting will be held at the Singhu Border camp site, which acted as the headquarters for the SKM.
Soon after the Prime Minister's announcement on November 19 about repeal of farm laws, the SKM had written a formal letter to him putting forth their demands in no uncertain means.
"With no formal assurance from Government of India as yet, the farmers struggle for their still-pending demands continues. SKM has not received any reply from the government in response to the letter to the Prime Minister, where SKM had raised six key demands as a pre-condition for withdrawal of the farm movement," a statement from the SKM said on Friday.
Meanwhile, the permanent morchas in dozens of places continue at Delhi borders and elsewhere, "reflecting the discipline and determination that protesting farmers have", the SKM release said.
Naqvi further stated that the long-pending demand of Kartarpur Corridor has been fulfilled and the government has also decided to start the 'Gurudwara circuit train' that will take passengers on a pilgrimage across the country.
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday announced that they will continue the peaceful protest here and will not obstruct any official day to day activities. He said that farmers across the state will continue the agitation on the lines of ongoing protests at the Delhi borders.
The drug money is allegedly linked with the seizure of 17 kg heroin, which was recovered by the police in Amritsar (Rural) on August 26 after arresting Ranjit Singh, alias Sonu.
The demands included an FIR and strict action against SDM Ayush Sinha, who on August 28 instructed the police to beat the protesting farmers. A video-clip of Sinha ordering the force to smash the farmers' heads had stirred a row after it went viral on social media.
Amid farmers protest in Karnal, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said on Wednesday that the government should avoid confrontation with the farmers and find amicable solution. He said confrontation is not good as farmers have every right to protest peacefully for their demands.
