Muzaffarnagar (UP): As farmers’ protest continued in different parts of the country, Farmer leader and National Spokesperson of Bhartiya Kisan Union Rakesh Tikait spoke to ANI on February 21 in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. In his special interaction with ANI, he spoke about the ongoing farmers’ protests in various corners of the country and their demands.
Tag: SKM
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Samyukta Kisan Morcha claims Twitter accounts linked to farm movement withheld on ‘instructions’ of Centre
By PTI
NEW DELHI: Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella organisation of various farmers’ organisations, on Monday claimed that Twitter has withheld around a dozen accounts linked to the farm movement on the “instructions” of the central government.
The SKM also demanded the release of activist Teesta Setalvad and former IPS officers RB Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt who have been accused of fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in connection with the 2002 Gujarat communal riots.
According to SKM, @kisnaektamorcha and @tractor2twitr are the two prominent accounts among others that have been withheld.
The SKM alleged that the BJP government at the Centre has “put pressure” on Twitter to “shut down” these accounts for questioning the Centre.
No immediate response was available from Twitter.
“Twitter has withheld about a dozen Twitter accounts in India, including the Twitter handle @kisanektamorcha allied with the farm movement, without any warning. Among them are important accounts like @Tractor2twitr,” the SKM said in a statement.
“The important thing in this context is that the Union government chose the day of emergency to take this anti-farmer step. The night of 25/26 June 1975, when emergency was imposed in the country, is considered a black day in the democracy of India,” the statement added.
The SKM demands that all Twitter accounts, including @kisnaektamorcha and @tractor2twitr that have been withheld “undemocratically and unreasonably”, should be restored, the statement said.
“We also demand that Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt be released unconditionally and justice should be ensured for the victims of Gujarat riots,” said SKM.
While Setalvad and Sreekumar have been arrested, the process is on to get a transfer warrant for the custody of Bhatt, who is serving a life sentence in a custodial death case at a jail at Palanpur, in connection with the FIR lodged against them.
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‘Will stir if demands not met’: Farmer leaders to meet Punjab government on May 10 over power cuts
Express News Service
CHANDIGARH: Unhappy over the recent power cuts, farmers in Punjab have been protested for lastfew days across the state.
Now a meeting has been scheduled between the farmer union leaders and Punjab government on May 10 to work out a ‘solution’ and if demands not met then massive protest on May 17. Before that meeting farmers leaders will be going to Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh on May 4 to get justice for families of ‘martyred’ farmers.
Senior Samyukt Kisan Morcha leader and BKU (Lakhowal)-Punjab general secretary Punjab Harinder Singh Lakhowal said that the state government has sent them a letter yesterday that they want to meet all the twenty two farmers unions leaders of the SKM on May 10 and the meeting will be held at Chandigarh as it will be chaired by Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh.
Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) CMD Baldev Singh Sran and other officials will also be present. “We will be attending this meeting with them. We have been demanding that uninterrupted power supply for at least eight hours for tube wells and twenty four hours supply for domestic connections as now as the paddy sowing has to start from May 20 and we want uninterrupted power supply. At present we getting two to three hours power supply for our tube wells and eight to ten hours power cuts in villages,” he said.
He said that for last five years thousands power connections for tube wells are pending as the farmers have given their applications have paid money as security deposit to PSPCL and also demand notices were issued but till date no connections have been given so these connections should be realised with immediate effect.
“Also the fees charges for increasing load of tube well motors should be reduced from Rs 4,700 per horse power to Rs 1,200 per horse power as earlier it was Rs 1,200 only and then increased, thus farmers will then apply to increase the power load of the motors installed by them,” said Lakhowal.
He also demanded that PSPCL should carry out regular maintenance of power lines and increase load of transformers to give uninterrupted power supply and recruit staff as there is staff shortage in the power corporation.
“We have been raising these issues with the PSPCL every year but they have been saying that they will talk to the government thus all our issues were always put on the back burner as no decision was taken. This time we told them that the power minister and government officials also be present in the meeting sothat decisions could be taken at the earliest,” said Lakhowal.
He said the SKM delegation met Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on April 17 and then he had assured the union leaders that a bonus would be given on low yield of wheat and power supply would be ensured. He added that Mann had also assured to provide MSP on ‘moongi’, maize and basmati.
“If our demands regarding power supply and MSP are not fulfilled by the state government then the SKM will stage a massive protest on May 17 at Chandigarh,” he said. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) will leave for Lakhimpur Kheri on May 4 from the state.
“The members of the SKM from other states Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan would also reach Lakhimpur and will meet the families of victim farmers. On May 5, they will hold a meeting with the Lakhimpur Kheri administration and seek justice for the families of the ‘martyred’ farmers,” he said.
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Hike in prices of fuel, fertilisers has exposed Narendra Modi government’s anti-farmer attitude: SKM
The SKM said the unexpected increase in the prices of diesel, petrol and fertilisers has exposed the anti-farmer attitude of the BJP-led Centre.
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Farmer organisations now point at MSP, mounting debts as Cabinet clears repeal of farm laws
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: As the Union Cabinet cleared repeal of three farm laws on Wednesday, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) said that the move of the government after year-long agitation has only averted a possible dangerous situation in future.
But the present agrarian crisis — low price, no assurance of government procurement, crop failures, and mounting debt — continues to unfold under the Modi regime, the SKM said. The SKM further said that they have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for talks to settle these issues.
“We have not heard anything from the Centre. We wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on November 21. We will wait till November 26, and meet on November 27 to decide on the future course of action,” said Hannan Mollah, general secretary, All India Kisan Mahasabha.
Mollah released a note on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and explained why farmers are not pleased with just the repeal of three laws. He said that procurement of crops is way less than even the MSP in all agriculture markets.
ALSO READ | Cabinet approves bill to repeal three farm laws; bill to be tabled in Parliament in winter session
“It is a well-known fact how only a very minor share of the total procurement takes place at the prevailing MSP. According to a recent situation, a survey by the government approximates the number of rural households in India to 93.1 million. For most crops, for which MSP exists, the procurement by state agencies did not amount to more than 10 per cent of the production in 2018-19.
Only 8.6 per cent of agricultural households cultivating paddy sold to a procurement agency, with the figure for wheat at a low of 4.9 per cent. This means that most farmers were forced to sell in the open market, where rates fall drastically below the prevailing MSP rate,” said the farmer organisation.
In a major climbdown, PM Modi had announced the repeal of farm laws on November 19 citing that some farmers could not be convinced about the benefits of these laws and that these will be repealed during the winter session of parliament starting November 29.
The farmer organisations have said that they would wait and watch the moves of the government but bigger demands of MSP guarantee and others remain unaddressed.
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Crucial farmer unions’ meet on Sunday to decide on agitation course; MSP issue in focus now
By PTI
NEW DELHI: After its decision to repeal the three agri laws, the Centre is now facing pressure from agitating farmer unions and opposition parties to bring in a legislation guaranteeing Minimum Support Price, with ruling BJP MP Varun Gandhi also joining the chorus on Saturday saying the stir won’t end till this issue is resolved.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of the agitating unions, is meeting on Sunday to decide on the next course of action, including on the MSP issue and the proposed daily tractor march to Parliament during the upcoming Winter Session, SKM core committee member Darshan Pal said.
Farmer leaders said the protesters will stay put at border areas of Delhi until the Centre formally repeals these laws in Parliament after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise announcement on Friday and indicated their stir for a statutory guarantee of MSP and withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill will continue.
“Our call of tractor march to Parliament still stands. A final decision on the future course of the agitation and MSP issue will be taken in a meeting of the SKM at Singhu Border on Sunday,”Darshan Pal told PTI on Saturday.
While the opposition needled and mocked the government after it agreed to rollback the farm laws, BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who had deviated from the party line to speak out in favour of the protesters, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to accept the farmers’ demand for a statutory MSP guarantee.
The MP from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh said if the decision to repeal farm had been taken earlier, “innocent lives would not have been lost”.
“This movement will not end without the resolution of this (MSP) demand and there will be widespread anger amongst them, which will continue to emerge in one form or the other.
Therefore, it is very important for the farmers to get the statutory guarantee of MSP for their crops,” he wrote and also demanded that Rs 1 crore compensation be given to farmers martyred in the movement against the laws.
Like Varun Gandhi, BSP chief Mayawati also demanded a law to guarantee MSP and withdrawal of cases against the protesters.
“There should be a new law to ensure the minimum support price for the produce of farmers, and barring cases of serious nature, all cases registered against farmers, who are the country’s pride, should be withdrawn. This should be ensured by the Centre, and it would then be appropriate,” she tweeted.
The Congress and Left parties have also demanded that a law should be enacted on the MSP guarantee while repealing the three laws from last year.
Action was also sought against Union Minister Ajay Mishra for the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri by Varun Gandhi as well as Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, who also urged Modi not to share the stage with the minister during the conference of DGPs in Lucknow.
Violence had erupted in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 in which four agitating farmers were run over by a vehicle while four others, including a journalist and two BJP workers, were also killed.
The opposition continued to take target the government over the withdrawal of the farm laws.
‘Mahabharata’ and ‘Ramayana’ teach us that arrogance ultimately gets crushed, but the fake Hindutvawadis seemed to have forgotten this and launched an attack on truth and justice like Ravana,” the Shive Sena said.
“At least in future, the Centre should shun arrogance before bringing such laws, and take the opposition parties into confidence for the welfare of the country,” an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said, adding that BJP’s “defeat” in bypolls forced the Centre to take the decision.
Congress leader P Chidambaram claimed Prime Minister Modi made the announcement to repeal the farm laws without holding a Cabinet meeting and alleged that it is only under the BJP that laws are made and unmade without prior Cabinet approval.
Union minister General V K Singh, however, lamented the insistence of a section of farmers on a rollback of the reform legislation.
“I asked a farmer leader to tell me what is black (in the farm laws). You people say this is a black law. I asked them what is black barring the ink (used). They said we endorse your view but these (laws) are still black,” the former Army chief told reporters in Basti, Uttar Pradesh.
“What is the cure (for this)? There is no cure,” he said expressing his exasperation.
“In farmers’ organisations, there is a fight for supremacy among themselves. These people cannot think about the benefits to small farmers,” he said.
The farmer leaders said the unions were discussing the developments and will participate in the SKM meeting on Sunday.
“We have decided not to leave the site till these laws are formally repealed in Parliament. Mobilisation of farmers on Delhi borders on November 26 to mark the first anniversary of the agitation will continue,” farmer leader at Tikri Border and SKM member Sudesh Goyat said.
Hundreds of protesting farmers have been camping at important stretches of Delhi’s borders in Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur since November 2020, forcing people to take detours during interstate travel.
It now appears that commuters will have to wait for some time for any reprieve on this front.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Centre will repeal the three farm laws after the nearly year-long agitation by a section of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The Supreme Court has stayed the implementation of the three laws in January.
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Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Farmers protest on Tuesday to demand sacking of MoS Home Ajay Mishra
By PTI
NOIDA: Farmers protesting against the central farm laws will hold a countrywide protest on Tuesday to demand the sacking of Union Minister Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’, whose son is an accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri episode in which eight people, including farmers, were killed.
The call for the protest has been made by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a farmer unions’ collective leading the anti-farm laws stir since November 2020 at Delhi’s borders, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), which is part of the movement, said.
“Demonstrations would be held at administrative headquarters in every district of the country. A memorandum will be submitted to the government with a demand that the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra be removed from his post,” BKU media in-charge Dharmendra Malik told PTI.
“The pan-India protest will be supported by all farmer groups associated with the movement against the contentious farm laws. Through the memorandum, we will also appeal once again that these laws be rolled back,” Malik said.
ALSO READ: Samyukt Kisan Morcha will oppose BJP in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, says farmer leader Rakesh Tikait
He said local issues faced by farmers at regional levels and district levels will also be highlighted during the protests on Tuesday.
Four farmers were killed in Tikonia area of Lakhimpur Kheri district, the native place of the Union minister, in Uttar Pradesh on October 3 after they were allegedly mowed down by an SUV.
Later, the crowd lynched four other people, including BJP workers.
Over a dozen people, including the minister’s son Ashish Mishra, have been arrested so far by a special investigation team (SIT) which is probing the case.
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Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Meeting slain BJP worker’s family was act of humanity, says Yogendra Yadav
By PTI
NEW DELHI: A day after he was suspended from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), social activist Yogendra Yadav on Friday said his visit to the family members of a BJP worker killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence was an “act of humanity”.
Yadav has been suspended by the SKM for a month for visiting the family of Subham Mishra, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker who was killed in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh on October 3 in violence that erupted during a farmers’ protest.
The SKM is an umbrella body of over 40 farm unions that is spearheading the protests at Delhi’s borders against three new agriculture laws of the Centre In a statement, Yadav said he has apologised for not seeking the opinion of the other members of the SKM before visiting the slain BJP worker’s family.
He said he regrets not consulting the other members of the SKM before his meeting with Mishra’s family and it saddens him to have hurt their feelings.
“In any movement, collective opinion prevails above individual understanding. I am sorry that I did not talk to the other comrades of SKM before taking this decision,” Yadav said.
“I respect the collective decision-making process of the SKM and gladly accept the punishment awarded under this process. I will continue to work more diligently than ever for the success of this historic peasant movement,” he added.
Yadav defended his meeting with Mishra’s family, calling it an “act of humanity”.
“It is in line with humanity and the Indian culture to share the misery of even those who are your sworn enemies,” he said.
Yadav said he met the families of the farmers and the journalist killed in the same incident, before meeting the family of the BJP worker.
He hoped that his public expression of sentiments will only strengthen the farmers’ movement.
“I hope that a fruitful dialogue can be started on this question,” he added.
In a statement on Friday, the SKM said the decision to suspend Yadav (one of the nine members of its coordination committee) for a month was taken keeping in mind the “hurt sentiments of the farmers associated with the movement who are already having to deal with the injustice of the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre and that his unilateral decision did not reflect well on the movement”.
“On his part, Yogendra Yadav explained that he visited the bereaved family to share their grief in a non-partisan manner and that he stands by the action he undertook in his personal capacity in terms of his principles and policy. He apologised since his action had hurt the sentiments of the protesting farmers and regretted the fact that he did not consult his colleagues prior to the visit,” the statement read.
According to a senior farmer leader, the decision to suspend Yadav was taken at a general body meeting of the SKM.
“He (Yadav) cannot participate in the meetings and other activities of the SKM,” the farmer leader said.
Yadav attended the SKM’s general body meeting on Thursday.
Eight people were killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
Four farmers and a journalist were run over when a car allegedly being driven by a Union minister’s son ploughed through a walking column of farmers in the district’s Tikunia village.
Angry farmers then allegedly dragged out two BJP workers and their driver from vehicles that were part of the convoy and beat them to death.
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SKM calls for country-wide protests on October 26 to demand dismissal, arrest of Union Minister Ajay Mishra
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Samyukt Kisan Morcha on Friday gave a call to organise country-wide protests on October 26 to press for the dismissal and arrest of Union Minister Ajay Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur violence, and also to mark the completion of 11 months of farmers’ agitation.
In a statement, the SKM, a joint forum of farmer unions, demanded from the central government fulfilment of its “legitimate demands” – repeal of the three anti-farmer laws, making MSP into a legal entitlement for all produce and all farmers, and sacking as well as arrest of Ajay Mishra.
Farmers from Punjab, Haryana And Uttar Pradesh had been camping at Delhi borders – Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur – since November 26 last year to oppose three contentious farm laws passed by the central government.
“The SKM has now put out a call to all constituents to mark October 26 with country-wide protests, to intensify the demand for Ajay Mishra Teni’s dismissal and arrest, and to mark the completion of 11 long months of peaceful struggle.
“On that day, between 11 am and 2 pm, there will be sit-ins and marches,” the SKM said in the statement.
Four of the eight people who died in the violence on October 3 were farmers, allegedly knocked down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers.
Angry farmers then allegedly lynched some people in the vehicles.
The other dead included two BJP workers and their driver.
Farmers have claimed that Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish was in one of the vehicles, an allegation denied by him and his father who say they can produce evidence to prove he was at an event at that time.
Ashish Mishra was arrested in the case on October 9.
The SKM also decided to postpone its Mahapanchayat in Lucknow, that was earlier scheduled to be held on October 26, to November 22.
In the statement, the body also clarified that Bhartiya Sikh Sanghatan (led by Jasbir Singh Virk) has never been and will not be a part of SKM.
The SKM reiterated its demand for a thorough investigation by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court into the alleged sacrilege and murder at Singhu Border earlier this month.
A man was found lynched with his hand chopped off while his body was tied to a metal barricade at a farmers’ protest venue at Kundli near the Delhi-Haryana border recently.
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Lakhimpur Kheri violence: SKM suspends Yogendra Yadav over visiting BJP worker’s house
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Thursday suspended social activist Yogendra Yadav for a month for visiting the family of a BJP worker who was killed in the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
Yadav has been a member of the outfit’s core committee.
A senior farmer leader said the decision was taken at a general body meeting of the SKM, which has been spearheading the nationwide protest against the Centre’s farm laws.
“In its meeting, the SKM suspended Yogendra Yadav for a month as he had visited the family of a BJP worker who had died in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri,” he said.
“He (Yadav) cannot participate in the meetings and other activities of Samyukta Kisan Morcha,” the farmer leader added.
Yadav had attended the SKM’s general body meeting on Thursday.
Eight people were killed in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3.
Four of the eight victims were farmers, who were allegedly knocked down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers.
Angry farmers then allegedly lynched some people in the vehicles.
The other dead included two BJP workers and their driver.