What are the big demands of farmers? Who is leading the protest?

The farmers have taken to the streets once more. The ‘Delhi Chalo’ march is gathering momentum, as they’re heading to the capital. The second spherical of talks with three Union ministers in Chandigarh on Monday night didn’t yield any outcomes.

Delhi and the Nationwide Capital Area have turned into the fortress to cease the farmers from Punjab and Haryana from coming into. The safety officers wish to keep away from a repeat of the yearlong agitation of 2020-21, which pressured the Centre to roll again agricultural reforms.

So why has the farmers’ stir started again? And who’s main the agitation? We clarify.

What are the farmers demanding now?

The protesting farmers from Punjab and Haryana are marching to Delhi to stress the Centre to fulfill their calls for.

The farmers have a 12-point agenda and their fundamental demand is a regulation that ensures a minimum support price (MSP) for all crops. This, they imagine, is an important lifeline to guard them from market uncertainties.

The federal government units the MSP on almost two dozen commodities twice a 12 months after suggestions from the Fee for Agricultural Prices and Costs. Many of the crop procurement underneath MSP is from Punjab and Haryana and of primarily wheat and rice produce which helps the federal government’s public distribution system. Farmers desire a regulation that ensures MSP on each crop, in accordance with a report in The Financial Occasions (ET).

Also read: ‘Delhi Chalo’: Why farmers are protesting again

The farmers additionally need crop costs to be decided as per Dr MS Swaminathan Fee’s report. The daddy of the Inexperienced Revolution advisable to the committee to extend MSP to a minimum of 50 per cent above the weighted common value of manufacturing.

The opposite calls for embrace full debt waiver for farmers and labourers, punishment for perpetrators of the October 2021 killings in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri, pensions for farmers and farmer labourers, compensation for farmers who died in the course of the earlier Delhi protest, together with a job for one member of the family.

The farmers additionally need the Electrical energy Modification 2020 to be scrapped and that India ought to withdraw from the World Commerce Group (WTO) and freeze all free commerce agreements.

The opposite calls for embrace the implementation of the Land Acquisition Act of 2013, with provisions for written consent from farmers earlier than acquisition, and compensation at 4 occasions the collector fee; 200 (as a substitute of 100) days’ employment underneath MGNREGA per 12 months, a day by day wage of Rs 700, and a scheme ought to be linked with farming; strict penalties and fines on firms producing faux seeds, pesticides, fertilisers; enhancements in seed high quality, a nationwide fee for spices like chilli and turmeric; and guaranteeing the rights of indigenous peoples over water, forests, and land.

Also read: Why a legal guarantee of MSP is fraught with challenges

Who’s main the protests?

The sooner agitation noticed greater than 40 farmer organisations in Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh come underneath the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM). Nonetheless, the present protests are being spearheaded by a breakaway faction, Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political).

Jagjit Singh Dallewal, president of the Punjab-based Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Sidhupur farm union, leads SKM (non-political). The group additionally consists of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha led by Sarvan Singh Pandher.
Essentially the most distinguished faces of SKM (non-political) are Dallewal and Pandher.

There are greater than 250 farmers’ unions underneath the banner of the KMM, which claims to have the allegiance of about 100 unions, and the SKM (non-political) contains one other 150 unions, reviews The Indian Categorical.

The massive farmer leaders haven’t joined the protests but however Rakesh Tikait has backed the decision for Bharat Bandh on 16 February.

To this point, 25,000 farmers and 5,000 tractors are reportedly becoming a member of the “Delhi Chalo’ march. Nonetheless, extra farmer organisations and farmers may be a part of the protest because it gathers tempo.

Also read: Drones, barriers & more: How Delhi-NCR has turned into a fortress to stop farmers’ march

Farmer leaders have held two rounds of talks with the federal government however have determined to go forward with the protest.

Pander stated, “The central government has not been able to make a strong decision on anything. The government is asking for time from us to pause the agitation. But they asked us for time two years ago too, when the farmers’ agitation ended.”

“We thought that giving time is not suitable now. If there is a strong proposal then we can think of giving time but they don’t have anything,” he added.

What’s the authorities saying?

The 2 farmer unions, SKM (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha despatched an inventory of calls for to the Centre on 6 February. The primary spherical of talks was held on 8 February in Chandigarh between the farmer leaders and Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai. The assembly was coordinated by Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann however not a lot got here out of it.

The second spherical of talks was held on Monday. The five-hour-plus assembly between the three ministers and 26 farmer leaders in Chandigarh went on till midnight they usually reached a consensus on some points. Mann was not concerned.

The Centre agreed to withdraw instances in opposition to the farmers from the 2020-21 agitation and the 2 sides additionally reached an understanding on compensation to households of farmers who died within the protest.

Nonetheless, a consensus on the important thing difficulty of MSP was not reached. The federal government has additionally proposed to kind a committee to deliberate on the authorized assure for MSP, debt waivers and implementation of the suggestions of the Swaminathan Fee, reviews News18.

Agriculture Minister Munda, who led to talks, instructed information company ANI, “We care about the interests of the farmers. It is not our concern if someone is doing politics over this issue. We have always been ready for talks and discussions and we are ready to do everything possible to find a solution to this issue. This issue also concerns the state governments. We need time to understand this issue and find a method to solve this…”

What has the federal government executed on MSP to date?

The Centre has spent almost Rs 2.28 lakh crore in 2022-23 to acquire meals grains at MSP, up almost 115 per cent from 2014-15 when it had spent Rs 1.06 lakh crore on shopping for crops at MSP, reviews News18.

The MSP-based procurement of meals grains has additionally elevated from 761.40 lakh metric tonnes in 2014-15 to 1062.69 lakh metric tonnes in 2022-23.

The MSP for paddy, wheat, jowar, ragi and cotton has elevated 12 months on 12 months.

Nonetheless, the farmers imagine not sufficient is being executed. They’re marching in direction of Delhi and they’re ready for a protracted haul. With basic elections approaching quickly, the Narendra Modi authorities has causes to fret.

With inputs from businesses