Farmers' bodies organise 'mahapanchayat' in Punjab, demand enactment of MSP guarantee law

Barnala: Samyukta Kisan Morcha and 18 farmer unions on Saturday organised a 'mahapanchayat' here demanding the enactment of a law guaranteeing minimum support price for crops and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report.

The gathering of farmers from across north India also announced a 'Delhi Chalo' march to the national capital on February 13.

'We are demanding the enactment of a law to guarantee MSP, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report according to the C2 (comprehensive cost of production) plus 50 per cent formula and loan waiver of farmers and labourers,' Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Sidhupur) chief Jagjit Singh Dalewal said.

In its 2006 report, the National Commission on Farmers' chairman M S Swaminathan suggested the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices to fix MSP at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production.

The farmers also demanded justice for the victims of the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3, 2021, that broke out after farmers protested against the then deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit to the area.

The farmers' bodies said they will meet a group of intellectuals in Chandigarh on January 10 while candle marches will be organised across the country on January 26 in memory of those farmers who died during the agitation against the now-repealed farm laws.

Farmer leader from Haryana, Abhimanyu Kohar, alleged that the Centre failed to fulfil its promises based on which the farmers' protests on the borders of Delhi were called off.