Farmers seek MSP law, loan waiver

Ranchi: Hundreds of farmers, under the banner of the Samtyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), staged a demonstration in front of Raj Bhavan here on Saturday.
Organised as part of the nation-wide stir, the farmers urged the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre to introduce laws for minimum support price (MSP) on agricultural products, loan waivers and opening of paddy procurement centres among other such demands.
The protesters accused the Centre of being apathetic to their demands despite its promise to ensure reforms after the nationwide agitation of growers began in 2020.
The protests had then forced the Union government to roll back the contentious farm bills.
“The Centre promised to fulfil all the demands of farmers within three months after they ended their agitation last year. But 10 months have passed since then, and the central government hasn’t met any of the demands. The farmers are feeling cheated and they are once again ready to hit the streets for an indefinite period,” said Sufal Mahto, state convenor of the SKM.
The protestors also submitted a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu via Raj Bhavan, seeking her intervention into the issue.
“If the government doesn’t fulfil all the demands of the growers, especially a law on MSP, then we would head to Delhi to once again and intensify our agitation from April 5,” Mahto added.
State president of the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha and former MP Bhuvneshwar Mahto said that the Modi government has been dragging its feet on bringing a new law on MSP to safeguard farmers’ interests.
“While the Centre talks of doubling farm incomes but its actions don’t match its intentions. Its focus has been to privatise the agriculture sector. We will continue to resist the move and fight against it,” he said.
Last month, the central unit of the SKM had given the call to launch protests across the country on National Constitution Day against their pending demands.