SKM urges farmers to continue struggle till all demands are met
Darpan News Desk IANS, 17 Nov, 2022 12:58 PM
New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Thursday exhorted the farmers to join the nationwide "March to Raj Bhawans" programmes and submit a memorandum to the President through the respective Governors on November 26.
Earlier, on November 14, SKM's National Council held a meeting at Gurudwara Rakabganj and strongly condemned the Modi government for betraying the farmers by not implementing the written assurances made on December 9, 2021 for legally guaranteed MSP, withdrawal of the Electricity Bill, among other demands.
The meeting resolved to advise all constituent organisations to be prepared to further intensify the struggle across the country.
"March to Raj Bhawans" marks the beginning of the next phase of the farmers protest.
Also, it appealed to farmers across the country to join continuous and committed nationwide struggles till all the demands including "Karz Mukti - Poora Daam" (Freedom from Indebtedness and Full Remunerative Price) are fulfilled by the government.
Legally guaranteed MSP for all crops and freedom from indebtedness are the major demands for which the farmers have been fighting since the rollout of neo-liberal policies that aggravated the agrarian crisis and peasant suicides.
Since 1995, more than 4 lakh farmers have died by suicide in India and around 68 per cent of the peasant households are in debt and financial distress. These demands, along with the demands of repeal of three pro-corporate Farm Laws and the Electricity Bill 2020, led to the year-long historic farmers' movement at the Delhi borders from November 26, 2020, which was actively supported by nearly all sections of the working people in India.
Farmers' demands also include withdrawal of Electricity Amendment Bill 2022, dismissal and legal action against Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni who is accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre of farmers, and a journalist, besides a comprehensive and effective Crop Insurance Scheme to speedily compensate farmers for crop loss due to natural calamities among others.
The morcha held a press conference this afternoon which was addressed by Darshan Pal, Hannan Mollah, Yudhvir Singh, Avik Saha and Ashok Dhawale. The next meeting is scheduled on December 8 in Karnal where the next phase of the movement will be decided and announced.
Lt Gen Aujla, an alumnus of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, was commissioned in December 1987 and has had an illustrious military career spanning 35 years during which he has held varied prestigious command, staff and instructional appointments.
The area around the Intelligence Bureau office has been sealed and investigation is in progress. A bomb disposal and forensic squads have been positioned at the spot. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann spoke to Director General of Police V.K. Bhawra and sought details about the incident.
Notably, the police detained several people, including party workers, who were not allowing the SDMC to carry out the demolition drive at Shaheen Bagh. After the agitation was quelled, the bulldozer moved forward to demolish the illegal encroachment, an iron structure in front of a building. It is at this juncture that Khan reached the spot and was seen speaking to the officials.
Punjab shares a 553-km barbed-wire fenced international border with Pakistan which is under the vigil of nearly 135 BSF battalions. The drug network operates along the Afghanistan-Pakistan-India route.
Police are looking at this angle. The incident took place near Kengeri at 1 a.m. and the injured were shifted to nearby hospitals. According to the police, the bus had first hit the 4-feet tall road divider and then rammed into the Namma Metro Pillar number 545.
Chairing a meeting of the Special Task Force (STF) team led by its chief Harpreet Sidhu here, Mann said neither political persons nor officers would be spared if found conniving with the drug mafia. He told the police officers to work freely without any political pressure with a sharpened focus to make Punjab a drug-free state.
