SKM to intensify stir to press for key demands

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a coalition of farmers’ unions, on Tuesday resolved to hold a ‘Worker-Farmer Parliament’ at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on March 9, coinciding with the resumption of the Budget Session of Parliament.

The decision was taken at its national council meeting in Haryana’s Kurukshetra that was attended by over 150 participants from nine States.

Coordination meetings will be held with trade unions and agricultural workers’ unions to decide the final plan of action, read a statement from the SKM.

At the meeting, officiated by the coalition’s seven-member praesidium, the SKM resolved to intensify “independent and united struggles” till the Centre meets its key demands.

The demands include not signing the India-U.S. trade deal; withdrawal of the Seed Bill, 2025, Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025, four Labour Codes, and Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025; and legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

To meet CMs, LoPs

From February 27, SKM delegations will meet Chief Ministers and Leaders of the Opposition (LoPs) of several States, demanding that they “fight against the centralisation of power” by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and seek “protection of federal rights”.

The SKM will hold public meetings in villages till March 9, with farmers taking out processions to post offices to send open letters to the President with their demands.

Campaigns will be held in villages that cultivate crops such as apple, soybean, cotton, and maize that it claims will be affected by the India-U.S. trade deal.

The farmers’ group also called upon all its State coordination committees to hold mahapanchayats across the country from March 10 to April 13.

It aims to mobilise farmers and explain to them the “dangers of the India-U.S. trade deal” and other “pro-corporate policies” of the Modi government, and prepare for a long struggle. The first such meeting will be held in Barnala, Punjab.

The SKM also decided to form a 15-member committee to hold talks with the Supreme Court-constituted panel of experts to recommend legal guarantee of MSP for crops.