The All India Kisan Congress, on Tuesday, announced that it would stage a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on December 9 in support of its demand for withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022, a legal guarantee for MSP, loan forgiveness, comprehensive insurance for all crops, a monthly pension of 5,000 for all medium-sized, small, and marginal farmers, among others.

AIKC chairman and lawmaker Sukhpal Singh Khaira said the grievances of farmers and farm labourers remain unresolved despite the promises made by the BJP-led Central government to the protesting farmers to end their agitation against the three farm laws.

It is almost one year since tens of thousands of farmers lifted their dharna and suspended their agitation in December 2021 following an assurance of withdrawal of the three Central laws. Besides the withdrawal of the three laws, the farmers had raised some pressing issues which are a matter of life and death for them. But nothing has been done about those demands so far.

Khaira, while releasing his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which these demands have been listed, lamented that nothing had been done to address the demands of the aggrieved farmers so far. “They (the farmers) have been left with no option, but to resume the protest as the Central government has not taken any confidence-building initiative so far,” he said.

The kisan Congress, in its letter, said that farmers have been demanding legal guarantees for the MSP for their crops as they apprehend that MSP regime might be scrapped over a period. “The MSP for all crops should be guaranteed using the C2+50 per cent formula, based on the recommendation of the Swaminathan Commission,” the letter reads.

Khaira further said since the farmers have already rejected the committee constituted by the Centre on MSP, a new committee should be constituted with due representation to farmers by including representatives of SKM. Another demand is that compensation should be paid to the families of all the farmers who died during the farm movement and arrangements should be made for their rehabilitation.

Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni, the main conspirator in the murder of four farmers and a journalist at Tikonia in Lakhimpur Kheri district, should be dismissed from the Cabinet and arrested and sent to jail. The innocent farmers who are imprisoned in the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre should be released immediately and the false cases registered against them should be withdrawn immediately. The Government should fulfill its promise to provide compensation to the families of the martyred farmers and the injured farmers.