Announcing plans to mark the beginning of the next phase of the farmers' movement to demand Minimum Support Price (MSP) from the government, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) said on Monday, 14 March, that they will observe the MSP Guarantee Week from 11 to 17 April.
They also announced that they would protest against the government's actions in Lakhimpur Kheri with regard to "protecting the criminals and implicating innocent farmers."
The SKM, which is the umbrella body of over 40 farmers' unions, said that the MSP guarantee week would be observed by organising "dharnas, demonstrations, seminars, demanding legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price... as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission, to all farmers on all their agricultural produce."
The plans were announced after a meeting attended by all the farmers' organisations associated with the SKM in New Delhi on Monday.
The Morcha also announced that they would hold a nationwide protest on 21 March to protest against "the role of the government in Lakhimpur Kheri... and the betrayal of the assurances given to the farmers movement."
The SKM said that the farmers' body would support calls for a 'Bharat Bandh' by trade unions on 28 and 29 March, adding that farmers across the country will actively participate in it.
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