Delhi farmers protest: Farmers have been protesting against the MSP issue since the 2020/21 agitation (File).
New Delhi:
Amidst the tense standoff between the government and farmers Samyukt Kisan Morcha – an umbrella organization of farmer unions that is not directly linked to those leading this round of protests – has rejected Five-year contract to purchase three types of pulses, maize and cotton On old MSP.
SKM on Monday evening criticized the proposal as “a diversion from the core demands of farmers” and anything less than procurement of “all crops (23 including the above five) with guaranteed procurement as promised in the BJP’s manifesto.” “Not even” he insisted. (Before the 2014 general elections).
SKM stressed that the procurement should be based on the Swaminathan Commission’s C2+50 per cent MSP or Minimum Support Price formula and not the existing A2+FL+50 per cent methodology.
NDTV explains. Centre’s 5-year MSP scheme, and why farmers aren’t convinced?
The SKM also criticized the government for the lack of transparency in the four rounds of talks held so far – which in this case were led by three Union ministers, including Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda.
And finally, SKM has also demanded the government to make progress on other demands, including loan waiver, no hike in electricity tariffs and withdrawal of police cases registered during the 2020/21 protests, when There was a violent clash between the protesting farmers and the security personnel. ,
SKM said there has also been no progress on demands like a comprehensive public sector crop insurance scheme and a monthly pension of Rs 10,000 for farmers above 60 years of age.
Read | What are the major demands of farmers which are unresolved?
The demand to prosecute junior Home Minister Ajay Mishra Teni in the case of death of farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh has also not been resolved.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha is not the farmers’ organization leading these protests, which are led by a non-political wing of the same name. Still, as a major confederacy of farmer unions, it could impact the farmers who attended Sunday’s meeting with the government.
In the overall story of the farmers’ protests, this is important because those who are now at Shambhu on the Punjab and Haryana border – and talking to the government – are demanding additional support, and the inclusion of SKM would add considerable strength. In an attempt to bargain with the authorities.
Representatives of the farmers leading the protest and the government met in Chandigarh on Sunday evening for the fourth round of talks, in which a five-year, C2+50 per cent contract was agreed upon.
Farmers had asked for 48 hours to decide on the proposal, but the signs so far are not encouraging, with some telling NDTV that the proposal “will not benefit farmers of Punjab, Haryana…”
At the heart of the farmers’ protest – ‘Delhi Chalo 2.0’ – is the issue of MSP.
MSP, the minimum support price, has no legal backing, which means the government is not obliged to buy, for example, 10 percent of a farmer’s paddy crop at the minimum price.
Farmers want this change.
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