SKM warns of indefinite protest against Punjab govt from May 17
SKM lambasted the Punjab government for failing to fulfil the promises made with farmer unions, including bonus on wheat, uninterrupted power supply and MSP on basmati among others
Lambasting the state government for failing to fulfil the promises made with farmer unions, including bonus on wheat, uninterrupted power supply and MSP on basmati among others, farmers unions of Punjab under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) have announced to start an indefinite Delhi-like agitation against state government in Chandigarh from May 17. A tractor-trailer march will be held to commence agitation, SKM functionaries said.
The decision was taken during a meeting of over 20 farmer unions held in Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar in Ludhiana on Saturday. The meeting was held under the leadership of BKU (Lakhowal) general secretary Harinder Singh Lakhowal, state president of BKU (Behramke) Balwant Singh Behramke and state president of Jai Kisan Andolan Gurbaksh Singh. SKM leaders Jagjit Singh Dalewal and Sukhjinder Singh Khosa were also among those present.
Lakhowal said a meeting of SKM leaders was held with chief minister Bhagwant Mann on April 17. The government assured ₹500 per quintal bonus on wheat crop, MSP on maize and basmati etc, but it has failed to fulfil the promises to date. The power crisis in the state has also hit the farming community hard. There are many other issues related to the farming sector which the government has failed to address, he said.
“We have given a month’s time to the government to fulfil our demands and if it fails to do so, we will start an indefinite Delhi-like agitation in Chandigarh,” said Lakhowal.
SKM leaders to visit Lakhimpur Kheri on May 5
During the meeting, it was also decided that the farmer unions under the banner of SKM will visit Lakhimpur Kheri (in UP) on May 5 to ensure justice for farmers who were killed there last year.
Lakhowal said farmer leaders will depart from Punjab on May 4 and will join other unions from UP and Haryana on their way to Lakhimpur Kheri. The farmers who were killed the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and their families have still not got justice. “We will also demand release of farmers arrested in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence,” he said.
On October 3 last year, four protesting farmers died after being mowed down by a SUV belonging to Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son Ashish Mishra. Four others also died in the violence that erupted after the incident.