More than 400 farmer outfits to take part in 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' in Delhi on March 14: SKM
Ludhiana (Punjab), Mar 2: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which spearheaded a farmers' agitation in 2020-21, said on Saturday that more than 400 farmer outfits will participate in a "Kisan Mahapanchayat" in Delhi on March 14 to press the BJP-led Centre to accept their demands, including a law on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Thirty-seven farmer bodies, which are part of the SKM, held a meeting on Saturday regarding their proposed "mahapanchayat" at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan.
Talking to reporters, Bharti Kisan Union (Lakhowal) general secretary Harinder Singh Lakhowal said farmers are continuously struggling for their demands.
In continuation of their struggle, it was decided that a "mahapanchayat" will be organised in the national capital on March 14, he added.
More than 400 farmer organisations from across the country will take part in the "mahapanchayat", farmer leaders said.
They said they will not travel to Delhi by tractor trolleys, but through buses and trains.
They said they are continuously raising their voice against the Centre regarding their demands, including a legal guarantee on the MSP for all crops and cancellation of the FIRs registered against farmers during the 2020-21 agitation.
On February 22, the SKM announced that it would hold the "mahapanchayat" in Delhi.
Meanwhile, the farmer leaders also rejected the "zero" FIR registered by the Punjab Police in the Shubhkaran Singh death case.
Singh was killed and around 12 police personnel were injured in clashes at the Khanauri border between Punjab and Haryana on February 21.
The SKM (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) are spearheading a "Delhi Chalo" march of farmers to press the Centre to accept their demands.
However, the SKM was not part of the "Delhi Chalo" call.
The march was put on hold for two days after Singh was killed on February 21. Two days later, the farmer leaders said the protesters would continue to camp at Khanauri and Shambhu on Punjab's border with Haryana till February 29.
Previously, the farmer leaders rejected the Centre's proposal for procuring pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP by government agencies for five years, saying it was not in their favour.
In the fourth round of talks with the farmer leaders on February 18, a panel of three Union ministers proposed that government agencies would buy pulses, maize and cotton at the MSP for five years after entering into an agreement with farmers.
The farmers are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in the electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during the 2020-21 agitation against three farm laws that have since been repealed.
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BJP repealed MGNREGA as they have 'allergy' to Mahatma Gandhi’s name: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Centre, alleging that the MGNREGA was repealed out of "allergy" to Mahatma Gandhi’s name.
He also called for sustained, people-led agitation until the law is restored and the new VB-G Ram G Act is withdrawn.
The CM alleged that the BJP "killed" Mahatma Gandhi as the RAM in the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee Rozgar and Ajivika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) represents Nathuram Godse, the "killer" of Gandhi, and not Lord Rama.
Addressing a preparatory meeting of the Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Scheme Bachao Sangram, organised by the Congress state unit here, Siddaramaiah said the struggle must continue "until MGNREGA is reinstated and the VB-G Ram G Act is repealed," urging party workers to turn it into a mass movement from the village to the state level.
The chief minister said, "The Centre has scrapped the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and brought in a new law called VB-G RAM G. Mahatma Gandhi’s name itself causes them an allergy."
He said the issue was discussed seriously at the recent All India Congress Committee (AICC) executive committee meeting, which viewed the scrapping of MGNREGA as a grave matter.
Drawing parallels with farmers’ protests in north India, Siddaramaiah said a similar sustained movement was needed to force changes in laws. He recalled that MGNREGA was enacted during Manmohan Singh’s tenure to make the right to work a basic right for the rural poor.
"Along with employment guarantee, landmark laws like the Right to Food, Right to Information, Right to Education and Forest Rights Act were introduced to address unemployment, hunger and the problems of forest dwellers," he said.
The CM noted that the scheme, which had been in force for nearly 20 years, had provided employment to 12.16 crore workers across the country, including 6.21 crore women.
Criticising the replacement of law, Siddaramaiah alleged that the Modi government had diluted workers’ rights.
"Earlier, rural workers could demand work for up to 365 days in their own villages and even approach courts if work was denied. Now, the Centre decides through notifications where people should work," he said.
Taking a swipe, he remarked, "This is not Dasharatha Ram or Sita Ram or Kaushalya Ram. This is Nathuram — the one who killed Mahatma Gandhi. Through VB-G RAM G, Gandhi is being killed once again."
Siddaramaiah also objected to the increased financial burden on states, stating that states now have to bear 40 per cent of the cost, forcing Karnataka alone to spend around Rs 2,500 crore.
"That is why we have launched the MGNREGA Bachao Andolan. It must transform into a people’s movement," he said.
Addressing the gathering, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar alleged that the Centre will decide the works and not the villages.
According to him, no state government will accept it. Even the BJP ruled states will not implement the scheme.
"Due to the VB-G RAM G, Panchayats will not be allowed to carry out works. After losing works worth Rs one crore to Rs two crore, what is left with the Panchayats," Shivakumar, who is also Congress state president, asked.
He asked his party cadres to hold meetings in every corner of the state to spread awareness about repealing the MGNREGA.
In his address, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge said, the BJP hates Mahatma Gandhi so much that they abolished the law and snatched the livelihood of poor people in the rural areas.
He also preferred calling the new scheme as "VB-Gram G" and not VB-G RAM G as the BJP has called it.
"For us, the livelihood of people is important, not the name of the scheme, but the BJP wants to trap us between the names of Gandhi Ji and Ram. We should not go for that fight. You name whatever you want, but give our villagers employment. If needed, we will change the name of the scheme once our government comes to power," Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, said.
According to him, the "VB-Gram G" has been introduced to align it with PM Gati Shakti national master plan.
