Farmers marching, demonstrating and sieging Parliament in Delhi, do you know what the main demands are?
Since this morning, the media lens has been focused on farmers. Stand with the farmers who are eager to march to Delhi and keep an eye on Parliament. Some 40 to 45,000 farmers took to the streets to surround the parliament. According to media reports, a large group of farmers also arrived at Noida’s Mahamaya flyover. The government and administration are putting up fencing at all important borders, but farmers are not ready to retreat yet.
The question is, who are these farmers marching to Delhi, where do they come from and what are their main demands.
First, who are the farmers heading to Delhi? Where are they from?
Most of the farmers have united under the banner of United Kisan Morcha. This is an organization made up of 10 different farmers. Among them, Bharatiya Kisan Union Tikait, Bharatiya Kisan Union Mahatma Tikait, Bharatiya Kisan Union Ajgar, Bharatiya Kisan Union Krishak Shakti, Bharatiya Kisan Parishad, All India Kisan Sabha, Kisan Ekta Parishad, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Morcha, Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan Morcha and systemic reforms Including large and important organizations like the Agra Organization.
The farmers who took to the streets to protest were mainly from western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. Their first consignment is ready to enter Delhi through the Shambhu and Khanauri borders on December 6. Along with the march to Delhi, demonstrations also took place in the states of Kerala, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu. Here, farmers intend to march towards their respective state assemblies and surround them. As time goes by, more farmers from western Uttar Pradesh state near Delhi are also likely to join the protest.
Second thing – what is the main demand of the farmers marching to Delhi?
1. The current needs of farmers appear to be relatively scattered. But it mainly speaks out on issues such as land acquisition, fair compensation, ensuring minimum support prices for crops and solving outstanding problems of farmers.
2. This time there was a big discussion in Gorakhpur due to the farmers’ movement. Farmers claim that farmers in Gautam Budh Nagar are not getting four times the compensation like the Gorakhpur Expressway project. Additionally, circle rates have not increased since 2014.
3. Farmers are also interested in benefiting from the new land acquisition law and implementing the recommendations of the high-power committee. Among them, 10% of the land in densely populated areas, compensation four times the market price, and employment and rehabilitation for the children of landless farmers are very important.
4. Apart from this, they are also rallying for an old but significant demand – loan waiver, pension, no hike in electricity bills and withdrawal of police cases registered during previous protests. Besides, they also agreed on justice for the victims of Lakhimpur Kheri violence and compensation to the families of farmers killed in the 2020-21 riots.
5. If we pay attention to the press release of United Kisan Morcha, we will find that they are in the mood to fight with all their strength this time. They complained that the government had not held any talks on their demands since February 18. Earlier news said that the government would find specific solutions through systematic talks with farmers.
