Farmer leaders under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) will meet Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit on Tuesday to give a memorandum of their demands including a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) for all crops.
The SKM, an umbrella body of various farmer unions, has said that its next strategy will be drawn up immediately after meeting the Governor at 11 am.
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After being invited by the Governor, the SKM leaders condemned the statements made by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to “mislead the people against the farmers’ movement” and said the Aam Aadmi Party government should be ready to bear the political consequences of such statements of the CM.
The key demands of SKM include guaranteed purchase of all crops at MSP, fixing the prices of crops according to the Swaminathan Commission report, cancellation of all the loans incurred by the farmers due to the policies of the governments and cases against farmers during Delhi agitation.
The SKM is also demanding the government to stop implementation of the Electricity Amendment Bill through loopholes and give Rs 10,000 monthly pension to all farmers above 60 years.
The SKM has taken strict notice of the fact that the Chief Minister of Punjab has not yet sent any response to the demands sent in writing to the Punjab government through the officials.
The SKM demanded the Punjab government to give compensation for the crops destroyed by floods and hailstorms, waive all the debts incurred by the farmers, hike price of sugarcane to Rs 450 per quintal, withdraw cases registered against farmers due to stubble burning and provide compensation and jobs sto the families of farmers who died during the agitation.
Meanwhile, on the second day of the three-day dharna being given by the SKM on Chandigarh border, a large number of farmers, men and women reached the protest site. The arrival of tractor trolleys and farmers from all corners of Punjab also continued.
The SKM maintains the Union government has not fulfilled the promises made two years ago when they called off their historic protest against now repealed farm laws. Punjab, Chandigarh, and Haryana police have sealed interstate barriers to prevent farmers from entering Chandigarh.
