The Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Friday, 21 May, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to resume the talks with farmers over the Centre’s contentious new farm laws, reported PTI.
“Today, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha has written a letter to the prime minister, asking for the resumption of talks with farmers. This letter touches upon several aspects of the farmers’ movement, and the ignorant attitude of the government,” the statement by the farmers' body said.
The body reportedly stated that the protesting farmers do not wish to expose anyone to health hazards during the pandemic and at the same time are not in a position to give up on the struggle, “as it is a matter of life and death, and also of future generations”.
The letter further speaks of the attitude of the government towards the farmers’ movement.
“Any democratic government would have repealed the three laws that have been rejected by the farmers in whose name these were enacted, and seized the opportunity to provide legal guarantee of MSP to all farmers.”Samyukta Kisan Morcha
On Wednesday, the SKM had warned the Centre to take responsibility for every "human and other loss" occurring on the borders of Delhi.
The farmers’ body recently announced that they would observe 26 May as ‘black day’ to mark six months of their protest at Delhi borders. They also told the government to not test their patience, initiate dialogues and accept their demands.
The last meeting between the government and the farm leaders were held on 22 January. There have been no talks between the two sides since 26 January as the farmers' tractor rally in Delhi turned violent.
Farmers Camp at Delhi’s Borders
For six long months, thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at three sites – Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur – along Delhi’s border, demanding repeal of three farm laws and a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP).
There have been 11 rounds of talks between the protesting unions and the government, but there seems to be no clear consensus so far.
The Centre has assured that the new farm laws will free farmers from middlemen. In January, the government had offered to suspend the farm laws for 12-18 months, which was rejected by the farmers’ unions. They believe that these laws would instead pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of MSP and do away with the "mandi" (wholesale market) system, giving the corporates a huge advantage.
The Supreme Court has stayed the implementation of the laws until further orders and has set up a committee to resolve the issue.
(With inputs from PTI)
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