Farmers will mark their 9-month agitation against agricultural laws with a national convention on August 26
According to a statement issued by the United Kisan Morcha on Monday, the farmers protesting the three controversial agricultural laws of the Center will organize a national convention on August 26 to mark the completion of nine months of their agitation.
“To commemorate the completion of nine months of historic, relentless peaceful protests by lakhs of farmers, the United Kisan Morcha has decided to organize a national convention on 26 August.
“This pan-India convention will see the participation of representatives of hundreds of farmer organizations who have been a part of the ongoing protests at the local, regional and national levels,” said the umbrella body of over 40 farm unions.
A farmer leader said that the details about the venue of the national conference would be worked out later. Thousands of farmers from across the country, especially in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the borders of Delhi including Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur since November last year.
They claim that the three laws that farmers are demanding repeal will do away with the minimum support price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.
More than 10 rounds of talks with the government, which is pitching the laws as major agricultural reforms, have failed to break the deadlock between the two sides.
SKM said that before its national convention on August 26, farmers will also mark the completion of 36 years of Narmada Bachao Ancholan, for which ‘Narmada Kisan Mazdoor Jan Sansad’ is being organized in Barwani, Madhya Pradesh.
“On August 17, to mark the completion of 36 years of Narmada Bachao Andolan, ‘Narmada Kisan Mazdoor Jan Sansad’ will be organized in Badwani.
“The event is expected to be attended by several SKM leaders, which will include thousands of farmers from different places in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra, besides villagers from several villages in the Narmada Valley,” the body said.
It said that to strengthen their agitation against the three controversial laws, farmers from southern India are reaching protest sites on the borders of Delhi.
“More farmers from far-flung places are joining the protest sites. Hundreds of farmers from Tamil Nadu reached the Singhu border yesterday. A team of farmers from Karnataka addressed the gathering at Ghazipur border today,” the SKM said.
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