Farmers’ representatives announced on Wednesday that their protests against the three central agricultural regulations, which were just abolished by Parliament following months of unrest, will continue until the government agrees all of their requests. “The government should set a deadline for the withdrawal of cases “Gurnam Singh Charuni, a farmer leader, said in Delhi.
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The decision was likely made during a meeting of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha‘s (SKM) five-member committee, which convened here on Wednesday. According to the committee, farmer unions would continue to hold negotiations with the Centre on all farmer-related matters, including MSP and police case withdrawal. The SKM also sought clarity on a number of aspects in the Home Ministry’s proposal, which asked farmers protesting to end their strike. The SKM leaders also submitted the plan back to the government, citing “flaws” and requesting changes.
Later today, SKM members would meet individually with Union ministers Amit Shah and Narendra Singh Tomar to settle their outstanding problems. The meeting with the two ministers is expected to take place hours before the SKM’s scheduled gathering at 2 p.m., which is leading the push against three agricultural legislations. The farmer leader stated that the government’s stance toward farmers’ demands has recently been ‘positive,’ implying that the farmers’ movement’s fate will be decided positively. On Tuesday, the SKM wanted clarity on a number of aspects in the government’s plan, including the need that “false” lawsuits against farmers be dropped.
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SKM members opposed to this and resolved to meet again on Wednesday to discuss these concerns and map out the agitation’s next trajectory. Since November 26 last year, tens of thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have been demonstrating outside the national capital’s boundaries, demanding the repeal of the three agricultural laws. One of the key requests of the protesting farmers, the repeal of the three problematic agricultural regulations, was enacted in Parliament on November 29. However, the demonstrators are still asking that the government meet their other requests, which include a formal guarantee on MSP and the dropping of charges against farmers.
