A number of farmers’ organisations have come together to announce a ‘Kisan Mukti Yatra’ from Mandsaur to New Delhi, demanding loan waivers for farmers and the minimum support price (MSP) for agricultural produce to be enhanced to 50% more than the input cost.
The ‘Kisan Mukti Yatra’ will begin from Mandsaur on 6 July and traverse Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana before culminating on 18 July at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
At the press conference, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav termed the march the ‘biggest collective farmers’ movement’ in the last three decades.
MP Raju Shetti, the leader of the farmers’ agitation in Maharashtra, was also present. Speaking to The Quint, Shetti said he had every right to criticise the NDA despite being a part of it.
We had joined the NDA on the condition that it would help farmers. But the BJP government hasn’t done anything for the farmers in the last three years. Thus, the criticism is absolutely necessary.Raju Shetti
VM Singh of the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan told The Quint, “The Swaminathan report came out in 2006. The UPA government did not act on it for eight whole years. Then, Narendra Modi came along before the 2014 general election and promised the farmers he would. Close to forty months on, it’s high time he walks the talk.”
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)