‘Farmers will burn copies of India-US trade deal on February 15’

Samyukta Kishan Morcha leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said farmers across the country will protest against the India-US trade deal by wearing black bands and burning copies of the proposed agreement between the two countries on Sunday.

Mr. Dallewala was speaking at a reception at Sachchinadananda Ashram in Mysuru on Wednesday, for the farmers participating in the Kanyakumari to Kashmir awareness yatra.

Farmers’ leader from Karnataka Kurubur Shanthakumar, who heads the Federation of State Farmers’ Association and State Sugarcane Growers’ Association, recalled that the British originally came to India for trade, but eventually ruled the country. He alleged that the trade agreement taking shape between India and the United States could harm the interests of Indian farmers.

Mr. Shanthakumar, who explained the objective of their awareness yatra undertaken by the farmers, said the Union Government had failed to protect the interests of the farmers.

As part of the yatra, which began five days ago, the farmers’ leaders will travel across the country for 40 days, collecting the signatures of farmers. A memorandum bearing the signatures of the farmers will be submitted to the Centre seeking action on their demands.

Urging the farmers to unite against the policies of the Union Government, Mr. Shanthakumar said a massive farmers’ rally has been planned in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on March 19, and urged the farmers from across the country to participate in the event in large numbers.

During the farmers’ protest at the borders of Delhi, the Ministers in the Union Government held multiple meetings and assured support for five agricultural products, but the farmers did not accept the proposal as it did not adequately address their demands.

Mr. Shanthakumar regretted that the Centre had not implemented even the recommendation of a parliamentary committee comprising 31 members for enactment of a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP).

He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before coming to power in 2014, had promised to implement the Swaminathan Commission report submitted in 2007. But, later his Government informed the Supreme Court that implementation of the report was not feasible, he alleged.

Speaking on the occasion, Sachchidananda Swami said farmers formed the backbone of the nation and soldiers defending the country rely on food produced by the farmers. He said farmers and soldiers are like the two eyes of the nation and urged the Governments to pay special attention to resolving the hardships of farmers. 

Several farmer leaders from different states, Abhimanyu Kohar from Haryana, Nitin Balyan from Uttar Pradesh, Indrajit Palliwal from Rajasthan, Leeladhar Rajput and Arun Patel from Madhya Pradesh, Harsulinder Singh from Punjab were also present.