As the second wave of the Wuhan virus rages across several parts of the country, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of over 40 farm unions, has decided it hold protests on 26 May and observe the day as ‘black day’.
As per reports, hundreds of SKM workers along with ‘farmers’ from Haryana will begin to converge from 23 May to join the ongoing agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws, reports Hindustan Times.
The Congress party that was embroiled in the “Toolkit” controversy along with twelve other opposition parties have extended their support to SKM for a countrywide protest on 26 May to mark the completion of six months of their agitation against the Centre’s three farmer empowerment laws.
“We extend our support to the call given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) to observe a countrywide protest day on 26 May marking the completion of six months of the heroic peaceful Kisan struggle,” said the statement.
The parties who are signatories to the anti-farmers bill include former Prime Minister and Janata Dal-S supremo H.D. Deve Gowda, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M.K. Stalin, Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM chief Hemant Soren, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, J&K National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, Communist Party of India chief D. Raja and Communist Party of India-Marxist’s General Secretary Sitaram Yechury.
Opposition leaders, including Congress’ so-called interim chief Sonia Gandhi, on 12 May, jointly wrote to Prime Narendra Minister Modi, demanding to repeal of the farm laws to protect lakhs of ‘annadatas’.
“We demand the immediate repeal of the farm laws and the legal entitlement to the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of C2+50 per cent as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission.
“The Central Government must stop being obdurate and immediately resume talks with the SKM on these lines,” they had said.
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