The repealing of the three farm laws was a celebratory day for the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is the farmers’ organization that had been protesting the laws since June 2020. Now, as the laws stand scrapped, they have submitted a list of their own demands to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The SKM has written an open letter to PM Modi, submitting a list of six demands for him to adhere to, apart from the scrapping of the farm laws in the parliament. The open letter requests PM Modi to resume talks with the farmers’ groups for resolving these demands.
In the letter, SKM wrote, “We want to assure you that we are not fond of sitting on the streets. We too desire that, after resolving 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.”
For now, the farmers have decided to continue with their pre-decided programme till November 29, after which the winter session of the Parliament will commence. The six demands of the farmers are mentioned below.
SKM’s six demands for PM Modi
- The first demand of the organization is for the Centre to assure a surety on the Minimum Support Price (MSP). The letter said that MSP based on the comprehensive cost of production (C2+50 percent) should be made a legal entitlement of all farmers for all agricultural produce.
- SKM further demanded the withdrawal of the Electricity Amendments Bill 2020/2021 proposed by the central government. The organization said that the bill was supposed to be withdrawn but was still included in the Parliament’s agenda.
- The third demand is to remove the penal provisions on farmers in the “Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act 2021”, which allows a possibility for penal action against farmers in case of stubble burning.
- The SKM has demanded that all the criminal cases against the protesting farmers be dropped immediately. The letter said that thousands of farmers have been implicated in hundreds of criminal cases since the start of the movement in June 2020.
- The SKM has demanded the sacking and arrest of Union MoS Ajay Mishra for his role in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, where several protestors were mowed down by a car.
- The farmers’ body has also demanded land for the construction of a martyr’s memorial at Singhu for the alleged 700 farmers who died during the protest, along with compensation to families.
The next meeting of the SKM is scheduled to be conducted on November 27, and the decisions regarding the future of the movement will be taken on the same day.
