Farmers on the Chandigarh border start a three-day protest due to unfulfilled requests

Farmers from Punjab and Haryana, united under the umbrella of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), started a three-day statewide protest on Sunday, the eve of the third anniversary of the uprising against agricultural laws. Their demands include a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP).

The Union Government has not lived up to the promises made two years ago when the SKM, an umbrella organization of many farmer unions, put off their historic demonstration against now-repealed agricultural regulations.

In response to the SKM’s announcement that they will march to the Punjab Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh to present the Governor with a memorandum outlining their demands, the police departments of Punjab, Chandigarh, and Haryana have closed interstate barriers to keep farmers out of the state.

In addition to a guaranteed MSP, farmers have been seeking debt forgiveness, pensions, and employment and compensation for any family members of farmers who have perished during the 2020–21 protest against the now-repeated agricultural legislation.

Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan, the president of Te Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan), said that thousands of agricultural laborers, including hundreds of women and young people, would advance to the front under the banner of the group.

According to him, this front’s demands include a legally guaranteed beneficial MSP for all crops, the resolution of outstanding issues raised by the Delhi Kisan Morcha, including Lakhimpur Kheri, total loan forgiveness for farmers, a crop insurance program that provides full compensation for crop destruction, and an old age pension of Rs. 10,000 per month for farmers who are 60 years of age or older (including women).

Farmers from various regions of Punjab have already arrived at the protest location near the Mohali-Chandigarh border, according to Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary of the Bharti Kisan Union (Lakhowal). He claimed that as many farmers are traveling to SAS Nagar (Mohali) to participate in the demonstration, the number of farmers at the protest site would grow. Haryanan farmers are anticipated to go to Chandigarh to participate in the demonstration.

In the meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party Punjab claimed today that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s haughty approach to resolving the farmers’ demands is the cause of the farmers’ current protest in Chandigarh.

Jaibans Singh, the chief spokesperson for the Punjab BJP, stated that significant issues such as paying flood-affected farmer families promptly and fulfilling promises to compensate for sugarcane and lentil crops, among other things, are not being addressed, giving the impression that the state government is not serious about the issues facing the farmers.

Singh said that the Union government has always shown tremendous sensitivity towards challenges encountered by farmers and is eager to find a mutually acceptable settlement for all concerns. Singh was questioned about the requests of the farmers that are awaiting resolution at the Central level.

According to the BJP leader, the nation’s ambition to become a five trillion dollar economy in the coming years will be powered by the farming sector, and as such, the center is prepared to do whatever it takes to improve the farming sector, while the state government has failed to meet the aspirations of the farmers.