JOIN USFarmers reject PM's 'apology', demand MSP guarantee, dismissal of Ajay Mishra
Indicating that their agitation was not going to end despite the Centre's decision to repeal the three farm laws, farmer leaders on Monday rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'apology' and demanded a law to guarantee the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
They also demanded the immediate dismissal and arrest of union minister Ajay Mishra, whose son Ashish Mishra was accused of mowing down four farmers with his SUV at Lakhimpur Kheri during a protest by the farmers last month.
Addressing a gathering at the Eco Garden in Lucknow, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said that the agitation of the farmers would continue until all their demands are accepted.
"Mafi mangne se bhala hone wala nahin hai... kisanon ka bhala MSP par kanoon banane se hoga" (Farmers will gain nothing by apology... they will benefit only by making law on MSP), Tikait said.
"The government has declared a cease-fire... the farmers have not... the agitation will continue in phases... Ajay Mishra is still roaming free... he should be dismissed and arrested," the BKU leader said.
He said that Modi, while he was the chief minister of Gujarat, had sent a report to the then UPA government at the centre recommending a law guaranteeing the MSP. "We want a clear answer as to why the report was not implemented... there is no use speaking in circles... it took us one year to make the government understand our issues," he added.
Tikait said that there were several issues of the farmers concerning seeds, power bills, milk policy.
"The farmers will not go back home unless the government talks to them and resolve all these issues," he added.
Earlier speaking to reporters before the Mahapanchayat, Tikait said that India was not a dictatorship where one person took all the decisions. "Ours is a democracy and the decisions are taken by taking the people in confidence... we were neither consulted before making the three farm laws nor while the decision was taken to repeal them," he said.
A large number of farmers from different parts of the country had reached Lucknow to take part in the meeting. Groups of farmers had started arriving at the venue late last night and the field was teeming with farmers by the time the meeting started. The farmers appeared to be in a combative mood and determined to fight until their issues were resolved.
"I have come from Pilibhit... the farmers are the most neglected people in the country... we do not get adequate prices for our products... we must continue the agitation," said one of the participants in the meeting Kartar Singh.
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