Ferozpur, June 13, 2020: Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee Punjab registered their protest in more than two dozen villages of 8 Zones, over their long-pending demands, by burning in effigy of the Centre government.
District President, Inderjit Singh Kaliwala and others said, the Center government is apathetic to farmers and more attuned to money bags. Farmers across the country are reeling under hardships are committing suicide on account of debt burden and lack of prices of their produce. Our Prime Minister bowing before the corporate houses are trying to hand over the agriculture market to the private sector and centralization of the federal structure by implementing the ordinance on the amendment in the Essential Commodities Amendment Act 1995, Farmers Agricultural Production Commercial Trade Ordinance 2020, and Agricultural Contract Bill 2020.
The farmers alleged that the electoral promises made to fix MSP (minimum support price) ensuring profit margin, 50 percent more than cost inputs as per the recommendation of Swaminathan Commission recommendation have not been fulfilled.
The farmer leaders said, “On Friday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari made an unambiguous statement from New Delhi stating that procurement of wheat and paddy in Haryana and Punjab at support prices for agricultural commodities is a threat to the country’s economy as crops are sold at very low rates, in the international market”. Added, the Gadkari’s statement is bound to spread ‘gadhar’ in Punjab and the country. The farmers of the country should strongly condemn this statement and accept the challenge of the Central Government.
They further said, the Modi government has drawn a clear line on the policy of privatization and centralization and the Union Minister’s statement is a clear signal in this direction. The Central Government would implement a quota system under the Food Security Scheme to procure a small portion of the foodgrains and the rest would be left to the farmers for sale in the open market. With this policy, the country’s abundant food stocks will be depleted and by creating food scarcity, Corporate houses will plunder 85% of the small farmers out of farming for their lust for profit.
They added that António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations has said that 4.9 billion people worldwide could starve to death and 140 million children could be malnourished due to Covid-19. There may be a famine of foodgrains but the Modi government is calling it the self-reliance of the country under the guise of Covid-19, instead of reading the writing on the wall and handing over the foodgrains business to agriculture corporations.
The farmer’s leaders challenged the farmers, laborers and the conscious masses of Punjab and the country to take to the streets and asked the Captain government to clarify the situation in a forceful manner that in this crisis situation you should tell the farmers of Punjab to be with the farmers or Corporate.
Giving a warning to the government to step up the pressure on the government, the farmer leaders said, a special session of the Vidhan Sabha may be convened with the farmers of Punjab and a law is passed immediately to repeal the draft of the three ordinances and the power amendment bill, failing to be ready to face the massive opposition of the community like SAD-BJP alliance in the state. The farmer’s movements will be forced to intensify agitations against such anti-farmer policies, they added.
By HMD :