Chandigarh: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which has been wary of supporting the ongoing farmers’ protest on the Punjab and Haryana border, has decided to actively oppose the leaders of the agitation in case they agree to the Centre’s proposal made at the fourth round of talks held Sunday night.
Speaking to mediapersons early Monday following the five-hour meeting with farmer leaders, Union ministers Arjun Munda, Nityanand Rai and Piyush Goyal said the government had offered to give a guarantee that its agencies would purchase cotton, corn and certain pulses at minimum support price (MSP) for five years.
However, this offer was limited to those farmers who chose to grow these crops while shifting from water-guzzling paddy in order to promote crop diversification.
Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarvan Singh Pandher, the prime leaders of the ongoing agitation who participated in the talks, told the media that the talks were “positive” and said they would take a final decision on the proposal after talking to their supporters protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who had also participated in the talks, told reporters the “five-year contract” was akin to a legal guarantee. He said he was hopeful that the farmers and the Government of India would arrive at a mutually agreed solution.
However, the SKM, in a press statement issued Monday, said the outfit “outrightly rejects” the proposal made by the Union ministers in Chandigarh Sunday.
“The proposal to have a five-year contract with farmers to procure five crops, namely maize, cotton, arhar/tur, masur and urad at MSP (has been) calculated using the formula A2+FL+50 percent (paid out cost plus imputed value of family labour) to promote crop diversification. Nothing below MSP calculated at the rate of C2+50 percent (paid out cost plus imputed value of family labour plus rental value of owned land and interest on fixed capital) for all crops with guaranteed procurement is acceptable to the farmers of India. If the Modi government is unable to implement the promise made by the BJP, then let the prime minister be honest to tell that to the people,” said the statement.
An MSP calculated on a C2 formula would be much higher than the one calculated on an A2+FL basis.
“In case the leaders of the ongoing agitation agree to this (Centre’s proposal), we will oppose them. This proposal is nothing new. The central government agencies are already procuring these crops at MSP,” Balbir Singh Rajewal, senior SKM leader, told ThePrint Monday.
Farmers part of the current agitation that started on 13 February have been pressing for a legal guarantee of MSP for their produce, among other things. The first three rounds of talks between farmer leaders and Union ministers failed to yield any results.
The SKM has been wary of the ongoing agitation but has been supporting it from outside, announcing separate protests.
Dallewal heads SKM (non-political) and Pandher heads the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, both of which are not part of the SKM, which is a conglomerate of over 30 farmer organisations from Punjab that had led the 2020-2021 farmers’ agitation at the Singhu (Delhi-Haryana) border.
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‘No transparency in discussion’
The SKM said in its statement that the Union ministers were not ready to clarify whether the MSP they proposed was based on the A2+FL+50% or C2+50% formula.
“There is no transparency in the discussion though discussions have taken place four times. This is against the democratic culture established by SKM during the 2020-2021 historic farmers’ struggle at Delhi borders. During those negotiations, every point of discussion and the stand of farmers was placed for public information by the SKM,” the statement added.
“SKM demands the Union ministers to clarify why the Modi government is silent on the demands of loan waiver, no privatisation of electricity, comprehensive public sector crop insurance scheme, Rs 10,000 monthly pension to farmers above 60 years of age, (to) dismiss and prosecute Ajay Mishra Teni, Union MoS (home), the main conspirator of Lakhimpur Kheri massacre of farmers, among others,” said the statement.
The SKM had Sunday given a call to organise peaceful demonstrations in constituencies of MPs of the BJP and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance across India on 19 and 20 February.
The general body meeting of the SKM is scheduled for 21 and 22 February, and will take stock of the situation and plan the future course of action.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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