A day after two key farmers' unions called off their agitation, another peasants' body -- Kisan Union -- today vowed to continue with the stir along with like-minded organisations in Madhya Pradesh.
"We burnt the effigies of RSS-affiliated BKS leader Shivkant Dixit at Jiran area of Neemuch district last night. We are going to continue our protest and burn his effigies as he has betrayed the farmers," alleged Rakesh Merawat, a farmer from Neemuch and is associated with the Kisan Union.
Other leaders of the Kisan Union -- Anil Yadav and Shailendra Verma -- said that they will block the National Highways state-wide during the day to protect farmers' interests.
Other farmer bodies are also with the union, they claimed.
Another aggrieved farmers' body -- Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh's state spokesman Sunil Gaur said that they will take out a massive rally led by leader Shivkumar Sharma 'Kakkaji' today in Indore in support of the farmers' demands, thus baring the rift between various farmer bodies.
Yesterday, MP Kisan Sena (MPKS) and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), who were spearheading the agitation, had ended their stir after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held meeting with different farmers' bodies at Ujjain.
Following the meeting, the CM had tweeted last evening saying, "I am happy the farmers have decided to withdraw the strike. The MP government is pro-farmer and will continue to work for their welfare."
Both the farmer organizations had called off their agitation after Chouhan assured them that onion would be purchased at Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 8 per kg.
Chouhan had tweeted that the procurement of onion at Rs 8 per kg would start within 3-4 days and continue till the month-end.
"In summer (from next year), the government would purchase Moong dal at Minimum Support Price (MSP)," Chouhan had said in another tweet.
He had also announced withdrawal of cases filed against the farmers during the course of the agitation.
Besides, Chouhan had agreed to other demands of the farmers, particularly, satisfactory prices for their produce.
Meanwhile, Congress today reiterated its support to the farmers' protest.
"The farmers' stir will continue even as Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan tried to mislead the farmers yesterday," said Congress MLA Jitu Patwari today.
State Congress chief Arun Yadav said that the state government has failed to redress the problems of farmers.
"Chouhan himself claims to earn a profit of Rs 11 lakh annually from an acre of his farm land. In contrast, the farmers of state are living in penury," Yadav added.
Yesterday, on the fourth day of ryots' stir, violence was reported from Sehore and Ratlam districts with nearly a dozen policemen injured in stone-pelting at both places.
Also, farmers had emptied 5,000 liters of milk from a tanker at Raipuria in Jhabua district.
However, no fresh violence was reported today from any part of the state.
The strike, which is mostly confined to western Madhya Pradesh, impacted the supply of milk, vegetable, fruits and other essentials at Indore, Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Dhar, Shajapur, Khandwa, Neemuch and Ratlam districts.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
