New Delhi: Farmers again warned the central government to resume their agitation if the government of India continues to renege on the promises made to protesting farmers in December 2021.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella organisation of the farmers, in a memorandum to President, said that farmers will be left with no option but to resume their agitation if the Government of India continues to renege on the promises.
The memorandum addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind stated that as the Head of the State, it is the President’s constitutional obligation to protect the interests of the Annadata farmers, the largest section of the country, and warned the government against committing this fraud against the farmers. The country has become self-sufficient in food grains because of the toil of the farmers, the memorandum said.
“Due to the tireless efforts of the farmers, despite the lockdown and the economic slowdown, the agricultural production of the country increased continuously. Playing tricks with farmers can be disastrous for the whole country,” it added.
The government’s alleged reneging of the promises made to the farmers of the historic Kisan Andolan of 2020-21 was marked as “Betrayal Day” with demonstrations, marches, and effigy burning in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tripura among other states on Monday.
The memorandum added that of the written assurances made by the Government of India in the letter to Samyukta Kisan Morcha dated December 9, 2021, not one of the promises has been fulfilled.
The Morcha warned the BJP government against challenging the farmers’ patience, and declared that if the promises were not fulfilled at the earliest, the farmers would be left with no option but to resume the agitation.
The memorandum, while mentioning SKM’s demand for legally guaranteed MSP, accused the government of continuing with its falsehoods related to the current MSP (announcement) regime. “The cost concept being used continued to be A2+Family Labour, ignoring the C2 cost of production, denying farmers their true entitlement,” it said.
It is also a false claim that crop diversification has happened with the empty promises of meagre MSPs being declared. However, farmers do know that such diversification is indeed possible if MSP is legally guaranteed as an entitlement for all crops, including oilseeds, millets and pulses, the memorandum stated.
Meanwhile, the SKM took cognizance of the Central Trade Unions’ notice changing the day of the nationwide strike from February 23-24 to March 28-29 in the light of ongoing elections. “SKM fully endorses and supports the call from the trade unions and stands in solidarity with the workers and labourers across India, and will conduct a rural strike on 28th and 29th March,” it said.
The memorandum also issued the date of a press conference to talk about the new phase of “Mission Uttar Pradesh”.
“As stated earlier, the Morcha will continue Mission Uttar Pradesh and campaign across the state to punish and defeat the BJP. The new phase of the mission will be announced with a press conference on February 3,” it said.
