 "Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat: Farmers say stir to go on until demands met")
Thousands of farmers gathered at Ramlila Maidan here on Thursday and pledged to continue their protest until the Centre fulfils their pending demands, including a law on the minimum support price (MSP).
The farmers flocked in large numbers to take part in ‘Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat’ held under the banner of the old Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer organisations that spearheaded a protest at Delhi's borders in 2020-21 against three agriculture laws that have since been repealed.
Vowing that the protest will go on, the protestors, who started congregating at the venue in the morning, said they will observe March 24 as ‘Save Democracy Day’ against the alleged ‘anti-people’ policies of the Central government.
The agitating farmers’ demands include guaranteed MSP which is 50 per cent more than the comprehensive cost, loan waiver, an end to privatisation of electricity and action against the culprits of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
A breakaway faction of SKM calling itself SKM (apolitical) has been camping on the Haryana-Punjab borders of Shambhu and Khanauri since early February and is also demanding a legal guarantee for MSP. It has had many confrontations with police, resulting in the death of a protestor and injuries to a few more.
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The Central government has held multiple rounds of discussions with farmer leaders but to little avail. It has also assured a guaranteed purchase of five crops at MSP if the farmer shifts from wheat and paddy which has been rejected by the protestors.
The SKM group, which held the Ramlila Maidan rally on Thursday, was not part of those meetings but has extended support to the protest.
Harman Singh, a farmer from Punjab's Patiala, said he arrived in the capital on Wednesday night.
"We want the Centre's policies to be pro-farmers. We also want our demand for an MSP on crops to be fulfilled," news agency PTI quoted him as saying.
Ravinder Singh, a farmer from Punjab's Bathinda, said action should be taken against those accused in violence that erupted in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri in October 2021.
"We want action against the person who drove his car over farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. The family members of the victim should get compensation and a government job," he said.
Baljeet Singh, another farmer from Patiala said: "We arrived in Delhi on Wednesday night. We went to the Sis Ganj Sahib gurdwara on Thursday morning to pay obeisance. We will go to the Bangla Sahib gurdwara once the programme concludes and subsequently, head back to Punjab."
Meanwhile, people commuting in and around Central Delhi and Sarai Kale Khan faced inconvenience because of the protest, which affected vehicular movement and resulted in traffic congestion at ITO, Delhi Gate, Daryaganj and on National Highway-24 near Sarai Kale Khan, among other places.
The Delhi Traffic Police issued an advisory, alerting commuters about traffic regulations and route diversions.
The police had allowed farmers to hold the rally on the condition that there would not be more than 5,000 people. The farmers have also been asked not to bring tractor trolleys to Delhi and take out a march towards Ramlila Maidan.