Punjab farmers to hold Mahapanchayat in Delhi against government policies today
Farmers from Punjab are set to hold a Mahapanchayat at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on Thursday.
On the call of Samyukt Kisan Morcha, farmers said they would hold a foot march from Uchana to Jind before the Mahapanchayat, and would work to show strength to the government.
The Mahapanchayat will adopt Sankalp Patra or Letter of Resolution to intensify the fight against the pro-corporate, communal, dictatorial policies of the Modi government, to fight to save farming, food security, livelihood and the people from corporate loot. Farmers are demanding a law on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, and complete waiver of loans for all farmers, among others.
KISAN MAHAPANCHAYAT TODAY: WHAT WE KNOW
In a press release, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha said preparations were in full swing to ensure massive participation and make the event politically significant and successful.
President of the Dhaner faction of BKU (Ekta-Dakaunda) Manjit Dhaner said activists from 13 districts of all three regions boarded trains to reach Delhi where they will stay at different gurdwaras.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 37 farm unions, which gave the call for the ‘mahapanchayat’ on February 22 at a meeting in Chandigarh, got a no-objection certificate for the gathering from the Delhi Police and municipal corporation on March 11.
Giving a call to march to Delhi, the farmers have been massing and camping at multiple points in areas bordering the national capital since February 13 along with their tractors, mini-vans, and pickup trucks, demanding, among others, a law guaranteeing MSP (minimum support price) and withdrawal of police cases against farmers during earlier protests.
The protesting farmers have been camping at two border points of Punjab and Haryana to press the Centre to accept their demands.
During the last round of talks, which ended past midnight on February 18, the panel of three Union ministers made an offer to buy five crops — moong dal, urad dal, tur dal, maize, and cotton — from farmers at MSP for five years through central agencies. However, the protesting farmers turned down the demand and returned to their protest sites.