Protesting farmers from Punjab will hold a Mahapanchayat in Delhi today, intensifying their fight against the Modi government’s policies.
Farmers from Punjab are set to hold a Mahapanchayat at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on Thursday. On the call of Samyukt Kisan Morcha, farmers said they would hold a foot march from Uchana to Jind before the Mahapanchayat, and would work to show strength to the government.
The Mahapanchayat will adopt Sankalp Patra or Letter of Resolution to intensify the fight against the pro-corporate, communal, dictatorial policies of the Modi government, to fight to save farming, food security, livelihood and the people from corporate loot. Farmers are demanding a law on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops, and complete waiver of loans for all farmers, among others.
KISAN MAHAPANCHAYAT TODAY: WHAT WE KNOW
- In a press release, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha said preparations were in full swing to ensure massive participation and make the event politically significant and successful. Leaders of 37 farmer organisations will be present during the Kisan Mahapanchayat, while nearly 400 organisations are expected to participate in the Mahapanchayat.
- President of the Dhaner faction of BKU (Ekta-Dakaunda) Manjit Dhaner said activists from 13 districts of all three regions boarded trains to reach Delhi where they will stay at different gurdwara. The police and the district magistrate have given permission on the condition that farmers will neither come with tractors nor carry any weapons.
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The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 37 farm unions, which gave the call for the ‘mahapanchayat’ on February 22 at a meeting in Chandigarh, got a no-objection certificate for the gathering from the Delhi Police and municipal corporation on March 11.
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Giving a call to march to Delhi, the farmers have been massing and camping at multiple points in areas bordering the national capital since February 13 along with their tractors, mini-vans, and pickup trucks, demanding, among others, a law guaranteeing MSP (minimum support price) and withdrawal of police cases against farmers during earlier protests.