Farmers' leaders join hands for farm loan waiver agitation

 Leaders of 130 farmers' organisations from across the country on Friday announced a nation-wide agitation for farm loan waiver and higher support prices that would start on July 6 from Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh and culminate at Champaran in Bihar on October 2.

The farmers' organisations, at a meeting at the Gandhi Peace Foundation here, also announced setting up of the 'All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee' to launch the unified protests against the anti-farmer policies of the Modi government.

“A total of 130 associations have already agreed to become part of the Committee. We are expecting more to join soon,” Raju Shetti, Lok Sabha member and president of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathan, told reporters here.

Farmers' leader from Punjab V M Singh has been appointed as the Convenor of the nine-member Committee that includes Shetti, who is part of the ruling NDA, Hannan Mollah (West Bengal), P Ayyakannu (Tamil Nadu), M Sunilam (Madhya Pradesh), Chandrashekhar (Karnataka), Rampal Jat (Rajasthan), Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj Abhiyan and activists Kavitha Kuruganti and Darshan Pal.

The committee decided to raise with the Central government two issues – assurance of Minimum Support Price (MSP), as recommended by the MS Swaminathan panel in its report, and waiver of all farm debts.

Singh pointed out that the two things on agenda were promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi also.

“It has been three years now since he made those promises... He had said that he will ensure 50 percent profit above the cost of crop and will waive off farmers' debts. We want to remind him to make good on his promises,” Singh said.