A farmers’ mahapanchayat is underway today in Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, to chalk out the future course of action of the farmers’ protest that has been going on for a year now. Organised by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, made up of many farmers unions in India, farmers from several states have congregated in Lucknow three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced repealing of the three contentious farm laws. 

Consequent to the turnaround in the government stand over the three agri laws being protested by farmers, Modi’s announcement on November 19, on Guru Purab, that the laws would be repealed, farmers, despite their happiness, expressed cautious optimism.  

There was jubilation amongst the protesting farmers, who had, in their thousands,  picketed themselves on the borders of Haryana and Delhi at Singhu and Tikri  26, last year, when Prime Minister Modi announced the repealing of the three farm laws. 

Also Read: Jubilant mood at Singhu border but farmers want repeal of farm laws stamped, sealed and delivered

The three farm laws, namely,  – Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 were alleged by the protesting farm leaders to be anti-farmer. The legislation was also seen by the protesters as an attempt to corporatise the agricultural sector in the interest of the private corporations.

While the recent announcement by Modi was welcomed, there were certain reservations amongst the farmers who said they were not yet ready to pack up and go home and would wait till the repealing of the laws were stamped, signed and delivered by the parliament in the winter session as promised. They also said there were many other issues that needed to be acted upon by the government before the farm acts issue could be treated as solved.

Yesterday (November 21) the Samyukta Kisan Morcha sent an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, titled, Your message to the nation and farmers’ message to you.

The letter, while welcoming the move of the prime minister to repeal the farm laws, also set forth other conditions the farmers wanted addressed. It highlighted three of the most urgent matters that the framers hoped would be resolved.

They were:

1. Making the Minimum Support Price a legal entitlement
2. Withdrawing the draft Electricity Amendment Bill 2020/21  which aims to open up the power sector.
3. Withdraw the provision for penal action against farmers in the “Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act 2021”

Also Read: WATCH: Couldn’t convince farmers about their benefits, have decided to repeal the farm laws, says PM Modi

Besides these, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha has demanded that cases filed against farmers during the agitation be withdrawn; punitive measures be taken against Ajay Mishra Teni, minister of state for Home Affairs, who the farmers allege was responsible for the mowing down of innocent farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh on October 3, last month, and, to build a memorial for the 700 farmers who lost their lives in the course of the farmers’ agitation.

The letter assures the prime minister that the farmers’ agitation would be suspended and they would return home, once the pending matters were satisfactorily resolved.  

Also Read: Highest opposition to the new agri laws among northwest region farmers; greatest support in the west region: Gaon Connection Rural Survey

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha’s letter is reproduced below: 

Mr. Narendra Modi,

Prime minister,

Government of India,

New Delhi.

*Subject: Your message to the nation and farmers’ message to you*

Dear Prime Minister,

Crores of farmers of the country heard your address to the nation on the morning of 19th November 2021. We noted that after 11 rounds of talks, you chose the path of unilateral declaration rather than a bilateral solution; nonetheless, we are glad that you have announced the decision to withdraw all three farm laws. We welcome this announcement and hope that your government will fulfill this promise at the earliest and in full.

Prime Minister, you are well aware that repeal of the three black laws is not the only demand of this movement. From the very beginning of the talks with the government, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha had raised three additional demands:

1. Minimum Support Price based on the comprehensive cost of production (C2+50%) should be made a legal entitlement of all farmers for all agricultural produce, so that every farmer of the country can be guaranteed at least the MSP announced by the government for their entire crop. (The Committee formed under your Chairpersonship had made this recommendation to the then Prime Minister in 2011 and your government had also announced about this in the Parliament).

2. Withdraw the draft “Electricity Amendments Bill, 2020/2021” proposed by the government (During the talks, the government had promised that it would be withdrawn, but then, in a breach of promise, it was included in the Parliament’s agenda).

3. Remove the penal provisions on farmers in the “Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act 2021” (This year, the government removed some anti-farmer provisions but again through section 15, possibility for penal action against farmers has been brought back).

The farmers have been disappointed due to lack of concrete announcement on these important demands in your address. The farmers had hoped that through this historic movement, not only would the three laws be averted, but they would also get a legal guarantee of remunerative MSP for their hard work.

Prime Minister, during this historic movement in the last one year, some other issues have also arisen which need to be resolved immediately:

4. Thousands of farmers have been implicated in hundreds of cases during this movement (June 2020 till date) in Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and several other states. These cases should be withdrawn immediately.

5. Ajay Mishra Teni, the mastermind of Lakhimpur Kheri murder case and accused of section 120B, is still roaming freely and remains a Minister in your cabinet. He is also sharing the stage with you and other senior ministers. He should be sacked and arrested.

6. During this movement, so far about 700 farmers have given their lives to the cause, as their supreme sacrifice. There should be compensation and rehabilitation support for their families. To build a martyrs’ memorial in the memory of the martyr farmers, land should be given at Singhu Border.

Prime Minister, you have appealed to the farmers that now we should go back home. We want to assure you that we are not fond of sitting on the streets. We too desire that after resolving these other issues as soon as possible, we return to our homes, families and farming. If you want the same, then the government should immediately resume talks with the Samyukt Kisan Morcha on the above six issues. Till then, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha will continue this movement.

Sincerely, 

Samyukt Kisan Morcha