Farmer unions defer Parliament march but protest will go on

New Delhi, Nov 27: Farmers unions have decided to defer their plan to hold a march to Parliament, two days before Bill to scrap farm laws will be tabled.

"After a meeting, Samyukt Kisan Morcha has decided to postpone the proposed tractor rally to Parliament on November 29," said Farmer leader Darshan Pal Singh in Delhi.

"PM Narendra Modi should direct state governments and Railways to withdraw the cases registered against farmers during the protest," said a leader of Samyukt Kisan Morcha.

"We are suspending the Parliament march on Monday. We had written to the prime minister for withdrawal of cases against farmers, allotment of land for building a memorial for farmers who lost their lives (during the protest), suspension of Ajay Mishra 'Teni' from the Union Cabinet over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, along with other issues."

He said that a reply is awaited and SKM will hold another meeting on December 4.

The Centre is set to table a bill to repeal the three farm laws on Monday, with it listed on the agenda for the first day of the winter Parliament session.

November 26 marked one year of the ongoing farmers' stir at Delhi's border points of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur.

The protest is being led by farmers collective Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM). Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, is also a part of the SKM.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh under the aegis of various farmers unions have been protesting at the borders of the national capital since November 26 last year demanding repeal of the three farm laws.

Farmers have been demanding that the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020; be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee the minimum support price for crops.

The Centre, which has held 11 rounds of formal dialogue with farmers, had maintained that the new laws are pro-farmer, while the protesters claim they would be left at the mercy of corporations because of the laws

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre will repeal the three farm laws, marking a climbdown by his government to meet the unrelenting demand of farmers protesting in several states against the reform measures for over a year.

PM Modi also announced the formation of a committee to promote zero budget-based agriculture, a term for farming based on natural fertilizers and local seeds, to change crop patterns as per the changing needs of the country and to make minimum support price (MSP) more effective and transparent.

The committee will have representatives of the Central and state governments, farmers, agricultural scientists, and agricultural economists.