By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Thursday said that the “stand-off” between farmers and the government continues as the Centre is forcing them to stay put at protest sites by not giving any formal communication with regard to their pending demands, an official statement said.
SKM, an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, said that farmers continue to wait patiently for positive developments and for the government to fulfil their legitimate demands such as legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) for crops and compensation to families of farmers who died during the movement.
“The stand-off continues with the government of India forcing protesting farmers to stay put at the morchas without any formal communication so far of acceptance with regard to their pending demands,” the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) said in a statement.
It said that “all pucca morchas (permanent protest sites) are continuing at dozens of toll plazas and other locations”.
The SKM also said that the President of India has given his assent to the farm laws repeal bill passed by both Houses of Parliament and a gazette notification has been issued to give effect to the repeal.
“With this, one important battle has been formally ended, with the protesting farmers scoring a major first victory against their elected government,” the SKM statement said.
On Monday, the central government has passed a Bill in Parliament to repeal three contentious farm laws, which triggered a year of protest by farmers at Delhi’s border points.
The farmers’ body added that the central government continues to say it has no records of deaths of protesting farmers.
“SKM reminds the government delegation that they stood in silence to pay homage to the martyrs during formal talks last year. This movement has a record of all the brave martyrs and is waiting for the government to fulfil the demand for rehabilitation of the kin of the martyrs,” the statement said.
Farm unions associated with SKM in Haryana held a meeting on Wednesday and in addition to reiterating the six pending demands from SKM, they pointed out that the Haryana government is expected to repeal the state level amendments to the Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Act 2013 (LARR 2013), it said.
They also demanded from the state government that it withdraw “undemocratic” legislation, passed to curb farmers’ protests in the state, called ‘Haryana Recovery of Damages to Property During Disturbance to Public Order Act, 2021′, the SKM said.
Repeal of farm laws was one of the main demands of thousands of farmer protesters.
But the stalemate continues as other demands of farmers such as legal guarantee on MSP, compensation to families of farmers who died during the movement and withdrawal of cases against them are still to be met.
Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said he will invite farm union leaders for talks to look into their demands pertaining to the state government.
When he was informed that farm union leaders have said they haven’t so far got an invite from him for a meeting, Khattar said, “right, we will invite them”.
His statement during a brief interaction with reporters in Karnal came two days after he said the state government will consider “sympathetically” the farmers’ demand for withdrawal of police cases registered against them during the course of their year-long agitation against farm laws.
Khattar said the farmers agitation issue reached near resolution after farm laws were repealed.
He said he has already appealed to the farmers, who have been protesting at Delhi’s borders for over a year, to return to their homes now.
Earlier, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar had said the right to cancel cases against farmers is a state matter.
Khattar had two days ago said farmers have not yet ended their agitation and are still protesting despite the repeal of the farm laws.
“When this issue (farmers’ agitation) reaches its end, we will do what our government has to do on its part. However, as they have yet not called off their stir, these things (withdrawal of cases) will come towards the end. We will consider all these things sympathetically,” Khattar had then told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.
He insisted that the farmers’ main demand was the repeal of the farm laws which has been met by the Central government.
Haryana Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) president Gurnam Singh Chaduni has demanded the withdrawal of cases — up to 48,000, he claimed — against farmers.
The Centre on Wednesday notified a legislation to repeal the three agriculture laws against which thousands of farmers have been protesting for over a year now.
The Farm Laws Repeal Act, 2021 received the assent of the President of India on November 30, said a gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice.
