Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
| Photo Credit: ANI
As a meeting between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of farmers which spearheaded the 2020-21 farmers’ agitation, on Monday (March 3, 2025) remained inconclusive, farmers announced that they would go ahead with their proposed week-long, sit-in protest in the Union Territory of Chandigarh from March 5.
Farmer leaders alleged that during the meeting, the Chief Minister did not properly listen to their demands, which, they said, was unfortunate and disrespectful. The Chief Minister, meanwhile, said, “It is unfortunate that farmers still want to protest in the State for no reason related to the Punjab government.”
“We will go ahead with the protest from March 5 in Chandigarh. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann didn’t listen to us properly and instead asked us to call off the protest. The attitude was unfortunate and disrespectful towards farmers,” said Buta Singh Burjgill, president, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Dakonda), and a constituent of the SKM.
Asking the farmers to refrain from creating inconvenience to the common man through their protests as it disrupts the daily routine of people, Mr. Mann said none of his predecessors had held so many meetings with the farmers to listen to their problems.
He said his doors were always open for talks with the farmers, but the inconvenience and harassment of the general public in the name of agitation should be avoided. The Chief Minister said that though protest was a democratic right of the farmers, they should also think that it was bringing a huge loss to the State.
The SKM’s proposed protest is against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) at the Centre. The SKM is demanding rejection of the Centre’s draft National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing, a legal guarantee to minimum support price as per the Swaminathan Commission report.
Farmers have been demanding that the Punjab government frame the agriculture policy in their favour and want the State government to promote cultivation of crops that require less water and guarantee the purchase of six crops, including basmati rice, maize, moong, and potato at minimum support price (MSP). Formulating a water policy in Punjab to prevent depleted groundwater table and pollution of rivers and other water sources and a law for debt settlement are also among their demands.
Published – March 04, 2025 01:35 am IST
