Will be forced to launch another protest if govt. does not fulfil demands: SKM
The Hindu
A 15-member SKM delegation met with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar at Krishi Bhawan in the afternoon and submitted a demand charter, farmer leader Darshan Pal said
Farmers' outfit Samyukta Kisan Morcha on March 20 said it will be forced to launch another protest if the government does not fulfil its demands, including a law on minimum support price (MSP), debt waiver and pension.
A 15-member SKM delegation met with Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar at Krishi Bhawan in the afternoon and submitted a demand charter, farmer leader Darshan Pal said.
“There are several unresolved issues and these demand another ‘ andolan’. We will convene another meeting on April 30 in Delhi. I ask all farmer’s unions to take out rallies in their respective States and hold panchayats in the run-up to the meeting,” he said, addressing the farmers who gathered at the Ramila Maidan here.
"We do not want to protest daily but we are forced to do it. If the government does not heed our demands, we will launch another andolan which will be bigger than the protest against the farm laws," he said.
Mr. Pal said the demands included a law for MSP, complete debt waiver, pension, crop insurance, withdrawal of cases registered against farmers and compensation to families of farmers who died during the protest against now-repealed farm laws.
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The farmers also demanded the dismissal and incarceration of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra and compensation for crop damage due to hail storm and unseasonal rains.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.