Latest news with #SamyuktKisanMorcha
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Paddy MSP hike meagre, says SKM
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has condemned the minimum support price (MSP) that was announced for 14 crops for the current kharif season by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on May 28. The government has increased the paddy rate to ₹2,369 per quintal (100 kg) from last year's ₹2,300. In a statement, the SKM mentioned, 'The MSP is not based on Swaminathan Commission's recommendation of C2+50% formula. Had it been implemented, the paddy MSP should have been ₹3,135 per quintal. The average production in India for paddy is 25-30 quintals per acre and the loss due to non-implementation of Swaminathan Commission's recommendation for farmers on one-acre production will be in the range of ₹19,150 to ₹22,980, which is three times higher than ₹6,000 being provided under the PM Kisan Nidhi,' the SKM leaders stated. The C2 formula of calculating the cost of cultivation includes the cost of capital and the rent on the land to give farmers 50% returns. A senior SKM leader, Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, said the group and the farmer's organisations across the country were consistently demanding implementation of the C2+50% formula for MSP with guaranteed procurement as promised in the election manifesto of the BJP in the 2014 general election. 'However, the BJP-led Union government under PM Modi has been betraying the farmers for the 12th year by not increasing the MSP using the C2+50% formula,' he said. The SKM added the rate of inflation and the rising prices of fertilisers, seed and other input materials, including petroleum products, and the living cost were much higher than the MSP hike. The SKM has also decided to ensure active participation in a nationwide general strike at tehsil and block level on July 9.
The Hindu
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
India-U.K. FTA deal: Farmers' outfits decry India-U.K. trade pact as threat to agriculture and small industries
The farmers' organisations expressed grave concern at the signing of a free trade agreement between India and United Kingdom. The organisations alleged that the treaty was signed despite protests by farmers, fish workers and cattle farmers, is a matter of grave concern. Samyukt Kisan Morcha core committee member and All India Kisan Sabha president Ashok Dhawale said as per statements from both the governments, products from the U.K. such as lamb, salmon, soft drinks, chocolate, biscuits, medical devices, cosmetics, electrical machinery, and aerospace will be dumped into our markets without any restrictions by slashing Indian tariffs. 'This will act against the interest of farmers, fish workers and micro, small and medium enterprises that are engaged in food processing. In the past, all such free trade agreements, both bilateral and multilateral, have failed the Indian farmers and small industries,' Dr. Dhawale said. 'Imperialist grip' on Indian economy He added that this agreement too is in that direction of past treaties and will deepen the realisation crisis in India's agricultural and manufacturing sectors and will allow the international finance capital to prey on these sectors. 'Such treaties are imposed on the people without any Parliamentary scrutiny. The central government is paving the way for yet another imperialist rule on the country. The Union government should back off from this treaty immediately. It should also withdraw from negotiations with the United States for a similar treaty that would pander to the Trump-led imperialist regime,' Dr. Dhawale said. Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) coordinator Pavel Kussa said the treaty will firm the 'imperialist grip' on Indian economy. 'Already, this imperialist grip has created hurdles in our development. Now, more foreign products will be dumped here. This reminds the East India Company's colonial rule over India. The Union Government wants to hand over the country's markets to imperialist rulers yet again,' Mr. Kussa said adding that on the one hand, the Centre is promoting ultra nationalism and on the other hand it is betraying the national interest and people's interests and succumbing to imperialist powers.
Hindustan Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Patiala turns fortress to deter Punjab farmers from reaching Shambhu police station
Punjab Police continued its statewide crackdown on farmer leaders and stepped up vigil in Patiala district on Tuesday to prevent protesters under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) from heading to Shambhu police station on the border with Haryana for a day-long dharna. Police personnel stepped up vigil in Patiala district to prevent farm protesters from reaching Shambhu police station on the Punjab-Haryana border for a dharna on Tuesday. (HT Photo) Police set up a naka (check-point) on National Highway 44 near Shambhu barrier to stop the farmers from reaching the police station, leading to traffic jams. Police personnel were checking every vehicle and allowing passage only to those headed toward Delhi or Haryana. All roads leading to Shambhu police station were heavily barricaded. Senior police officers, including Patiala SSP Varun Sharma, were on the field, ensuring no protester reaches the police station. The protest, spearheaded by Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, is in response to the police crackdown on March 19, when farmer leaders were detained after a meeting with Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Chandigarh and cleared off the Shambhu and Khanauri protest sites that they had been occupying since February 13, 2024, when their Delhi Chalo march was stopped en route to the national capital. Farmers are demanding compensation for the items that had allegedly gone missing during the March 19 police crackdown at Shambhu, which they claimed were later traced with individuals linked to Aam Aadmi Party leaders and police personnel. Patiala Police said that farmers wouldn't be allowed to hold protests outside the police station at any cost. Patiala SSP Varun Sharma, who was at Shambhu, said, 'No one will be allowed to hold protests and harass the people. We will not allow farmers to disrupt law and order at any cost.' Key farmer leaders, including Jagjit Singh Dallewal, were detained in various districts on Monday ahead of the protest. KMM leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, 'Punjab seems to have turned into a police state. Peaceful protests against the state government are not allowed.' Chief minister Bhagwant Mann had warned protesters on Monday that legal action would be taken against those who disrupt public life and hinder the state's progress.
Indian Express
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Today in Politics: Farmers' groups to protest, its senior leaders put under ‘house arrest' a day before
A day ahead of a scheduled protest on Tuesday, the agitating Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) has claimed that its senior leaders, including Jagjit Singh Dallewal who is a key face of the ongoing farmers' movement, were placed under house arrest. With the SKM scheduled to protest outside the Shambhu police station at the Punjab-Haryana border, the farmers' group claimed that multiple leaders across Punjab were either detained or placed under house arrest in a sweeping move that has drawn sharp criticism from various farmer organisations. 'I am still weak and even now, I can barely walk, and yet they have confined me to my home,' Dallewal said, adding that they had announced a day's peaceful protest outside the Shambhu police station, but the government got 'scared' and is not allowing them to gather. The May 6 protest was called against the Punjab government over its alleged use of repressive methods to evict protesting farmers from Shambhu and Khanauri border points in March. The arrests are being seen as a pre-emptive measure by the authorities fearing a large-scale gathering at Shambhu, where farmers' groups had staged a 400-day dharna from February 13, 2024, to March 19, 2025, demanding a legally guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP), among other things. That protest was forcibly cleared on March 19 when several top leaders returning from talks with the Centre and the Punjab government were arrested en route from Mohali. In a post on social media, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said: 'Any announcements, protests, or strikes in Punjab that involve blocking roads or railways or cause inconvenience to the general public and disrupt daily life will be considered as acts against the public. All organisations, unions, and groups are advised to take note. There are other ways to express opposition — troubling the people is not right. Otherwise, be prepared for strict legal action.' Meanwhile, amid the dispute over water sharing between the Punjab and Haryana government, the High Court will on Tuesday hear several pleas, including from the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), over the Punjab government allegedly preventing the release of water to Haryana in an 'unconstitutional and illegal' act. The hearing comes days after an all-party meeting in Haryana, led by CM Nayab Singh Saini, condemned the Punjab government's actions. Kharge in Jharkhand With the Congress's 'Save the Constitution' campaign underway in Jharkhand, party national president Mallikarjun Kharge is set to address a rally in the state capital Ranchi on Tuesday. 'During the rally, we will demand a Central legislation to allocate funds for SCs and STs in proportion to their population, and, most importantly, reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs in both government and private institutions,' Jharkhand Congress in-charge K Raju said. 'Kharge will attend three important events of the state Congress during his day-long stay in Ranchi. He will attend the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee's Political Affairs Committee meeting for the first time,' a party spokesperson said. The state unit is also expected to make 'several important decisions' at an extended working committee meeting. Party general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, along with several ministers and legislators, will also participate in the rally. On Tuesday, the Maharashtra Cabinet is holding a special meeting in the Ahilyanagar district to commemorate the 300th anniversary of famed 18th-century queen Ahilyabai Holkar. 'It will be a full-fledged Council of Ministers meeting which will be attended by all 42 ministers of all three Mahayuti partners, led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar,' sources said, as reported by Shubhangi Khapre. The meeting, which will be held at Ahilyabai's birthplace Chondi, is likely to focus on a comprehensive development package, from infrastructure projects to schemes, for Ahilyanagar district with a thrust on the renovation of historical monuments. Though Ahilyabai is highly revered among all castes and communities, present-day Holkars belong to the Dhangar community. The community, numbering at 9% of the state population, is a significant vote bank. In terms of electoral politics, Dhangars play a decisive role in seven to nine Lok Sabha seats and 35 to 40 Assembly constituencies. The BJP has been looking to build a base among the Dhangars since the early 1980s, and several recent government programmes have been directed towards this community.
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Business Standard
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Day before protest, several SKM leaders put under 'house arrest' in Punjab
Farmer leaders have claimed that several Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) leaders, including Jagjit Singh Dallewal, were put under house arrest by the Punjab government on Monday, ahead of their scheduled protest outside the Shambhu police station. The May 6 protest was called against the Punjab government over its alleged use of repressive methods to evict protesting farmers from Shambhu and Khanauri border points in March. The farmer leaders claimed that Punjab Police personnel reached their houses early morning to detain them. They said police wanted to prevent them from mobilising people for Tuesday's protest. "Dallewal was put under house arrest at around 4 am at his house in Faridkot district," a farmer leader said. Several other leaders faced a similar ordeal in different districts of the state, the farmer leaders said. Among those detained are Manjit Singh Rai and Davinder Singh. The farmers' body had recently announced to hold a protest outside the Shambhu police station on Tuesday against the state government's alleged use of repressive methods to evict them from their protest morchas in March, and also demanding strict action against those people who stole many of their belongings when they were evicted. Following his alleged house arrest, Dallewal, who had ended his prolonged fast in April, uploaded a video on social media. "I am still weak and even now, I can barely walk, and yet they have confined me to my home," Dallewal said, adding that they had announced a day's peaceful protest outside the Shambhu police station, but the government got "scared" and is not allowing them to gather. In the past, many farmer leaders have alleged that the protesters suffered heavy losses as their trolleys and other belongings were stolen from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points following police action and not all the lost belongings had been recovered. Dallewal said the state police had assured that farmers would be compensated for the loss of their stolen articles, which have not been recovered. "Rather than taking prompt action against the culprits, the police started registering cases against those people who were assisting in tracing the missing articles of farmers... When we called for a protest on May 6, the government got so scared that it decided to not let us gather," Dallewal said. On March 19, the Punjab Police had cracked down on agitating farmers, detaining their leaders in Mohali when they were returning from a meeting with a central delegation led by Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Chandigarh. The farmer leaders and some other farmers who were detained were released in subsequent days. The meeting was organised to discuss the farmers' demands, which include the MSP guarantee. Punjab Police had also evicted farmers and dismantled temporary structures from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points, where the sit-ins were being held by them for over a year. Dallewal is a senior leader of a joint forum of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), which had spearheaded the agitation at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points in support of their various demands. Dallewal had begun his indefinite hunger strike on November 26 last year to press the Centre to accept the farmers' demands. He had ended his fast-unto-death in early April after Punjab Police cracked down on agitating farmers.
