Two farmers' organisations, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), have announced plans to hold nationwide protests on August 1 and 15, demanding a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Farmers' Unions Call For Nationwide Protest On August 1, Tractor March On August 15
A joint statement issued by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) said farmers will march to district headquarters across the country and burn effigies of the ruling BJP on August 1.
Addressing a press conference, KMM leader Sarvan Singh Pandher said the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' march will complete 200 days on August 31 and appealed to people to reach Khanauri and Shambhu points on the Punjab and Haryana border.
A joint statement issued by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and KMM said farmers will march to district headquarters across the country and burn effigies of the ruling BJP on August 1.
On August 15, farmers will hold tractor marches across districts to press various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
"We have been demanding a legalised MSP guarantee. Government says it will burden the economy but we discussed with economic experts and they say it is not true," they said.
After the press conference, 11 MPs met the farmer leaders. Shiromani Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Congress' Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and AAP's Malvinder Singh Kang were among the MPs who met the farmers.
Farmers Delhi Chalo March
Farmers from Punjab led by SKM (Non-Political) and KMM began the 'Delhi Chalo' march to Delhi on February 13 to demand MSP for crops, among other things, but were stopped by Haryana Police, who had set up barricades, including cemented blocks, on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway.
The farmers clashed with police personnel and have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points ever since.
On July 10, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the Haryana government to open the barricades at the Shambhu border within a week on an "experimental basis". The court also directed the Punjab government to ensure that the protesters gathered in its territory are "duly controlled as and when the situation so requires".
The Haryana government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the high court order.
(With PTI Inputs)
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