Saurashtra region's farmers' representatives issued a 'charter of demands' here today and announced that they would not allow the 'Vibrant Gujarat Summit' to be held if the minimum support price (MSP) of crops like cotton and groundnut are not increased.
"If our demands, which include increased MSP of Rs 1,200 per 20 kg for cotton and Rs 1,000 per 20 kg for groundnut are not fulfilled, then we will lead a march to Gandhinagar and will not allow the Vibrant Gujarat Summit to be held," farmers' rights activist and 'Gujarat Khedut Samaj' member Sagar Rabari reporters here.
Rabari said that along with paying the MSP declared by the Centre, states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab also provide a bonus amount ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 100 for different crops.
He demanded that the Gujarat government should also announce a bonus of Rs 200 per 20 kg for farmers who have already sold their crops in throw-away prices.
Farmers in Gujarat plan to hold a 'Kisan Adhikar Yatra' (farmers' rights rally) from January 1 to January 7 to spread awareness about their demands, Rabari said.
In the 'charter of demands' released today by around 11 farmers' groups, they have demanded a legal provision for public auction to sell their crops at better price.
The farmers demanded 12 hours' power supply to allow them to use electric motors to pump water.
They also demanded acts like Special Investment Region (SIR), 2009 as well as Irrigation and Drainage Act, 2013, to be repealed, considering it an anti-farmers' act.
Farmers demanded the Gujarat government to set a deadline to provide Narmada river water in Gujarat's crisis-hit Saurashtra region.
Meanwhile, a former BJP MP from Gujarat's Rajkot Lok Sabha seat Shivlal Vekariya, said here today that farmers in the state are being treated like the "second-class" citizens.
"We will protest against the Gujarat government's anti-farmers' policy at our rallies in January, where we will distribute leaflets about farmers' rights. We will set up committees at the village, taluka and district levels to intensify our struggle," Vekariya said.
