AT the call of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) given in its meeting at the Singhu border on January 15, 2022, tens of thousands of farmers across the nation came on the streets to observe the ‘Day of Betrayal’ condemning the Modi-led BJP central government on January 31. Protest demonstrations were held in hundreds of districts and blocks across India, and memoranda were submitted addressed to the president of India, to local authorities.

The government of India’s reneging on the promises made to the farmers of the historic kisan Struggle of 2020-21 was marked as ‘betrayal day’ with demonstrations, marches, and effigy burning of the Modi regime in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Tripura among other states.

It should be noted that, of the written assurances made by the government of India in the letter to the SKM dated December 9, 2021, not one of the promises has been fulfilled. The SKM warned the BJP government against challenging the farmers’ patience. Farmers will be left with no option but to resume their agitation, if the government of India continues to renege on the promises made to protesting farmers, declared the SKM in its press release on January 31.

The memorandum addressed to the president stated that as the head of State, it is the president’s constitutional obligation to protect the interests of the farmers, the largest section of the country, and warn the government against committing this fraud on the farmers. The country has become self-sufficient in food grains because of the toil of the farmers. “Due to the tireless efforts of the farmers, despite the lockdown and the economic slowdown, the agricultural production of the country has increased continuously. Playing tricks with farmers can be disastrous for the whole country”, said the memorandum from farmers.

As a result of the January 31 nationwide protests, union agriculture minister Narendra Tomar had to announce that the promised MSP committee would be formed by the central government after the current state assembly elections. However, there has been no progress about the withdrawal of police cases by the BJP-led central government and state governments, or about the compensation to be paid to the families of the martyrs in the farmers’ struggle. The butcher of Lakhimpur Kheri, Ajay Mishra Teni still continues in the union cabinet, with the shameless support of prime minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.      

SKM also took cognizance of the Central Trade Unions’ notice changing the day of the nationwide strike from February 23-24 to March 28-29 in the light of ongoing elections. SKM fully endorsed and supported the call from the trade unions, stood in solidarity with the workers and labourers across India, and will conduct a rural strike on March 28 and 29.

In its Economic Survey 2021-22, the government of India continues with its falsehoods related to the current MSP (announcement) regime, and the cost concept being used for announcing such MSPs. The cost concept being used continues to be A2+family labour, ignoring C2 cost of production, denying farmers their true entitlement. It is also a false claim that crop diversification has happened with the empty promises of meagre MSPs being declared. However, farmers know that such a diversification is indeed possible if MSP is legally guaranteed as an entitlement for all crops including oilseeds, millets and pulses. That is one of the key reasons that SKM has demanded a legally guaranteed MSP.

Both the SKM and AIKS released stinging press releases denouncing the anti-farmer, anti-people and pro-corporate union budget, calling it ‘a revenge on farmers’.

MISSION UTTAR PRADESH REVIVED

The SKM decided to continue ‘Mission Uttar Pradesh’ and campaign across the state to punish and defeat the BJP. The new phase of the mission was announced with a packed press conference at Delhi on February 3, which was addressed by SKM leaders Rakesh Tikait, Hannan Mollah, Darshan Pal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Shivkumar Sharma, Yudhvir Singh and Yogendra Yadav. An appeal from the SKM to the farmers of UP asking them to punish the anti-farmer BJP was released in this press conference and it has since become viral.

Since no campaign rallies are being held in UP due to Covid restrictions, the SKM has begun a series of widely attended press conferences in major cities of UP calling for the defeat of the BJP. Beginning on February 6, such press conferences have been held so far in Meerut, Bulandshahr, Moradabad and Bareilly in western UP, and they will also be held in central and eastern UP to coincide with the voting in those areas. The press conferences are being well covered in both the print and electronic media. They are directly attacking the BJP governments of Modi and Yogi for the betrayal of their assurances given to farmers in UP five years ago, their communal conspiracies and other anti-people aspects of their rule. The press conferences have been variously addressed by Rakesh Tikait, Hannan Mollah, Yogendra Yadav, Ashok Dhawale, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Shivkumar Sharma, Sunilam and other SKM leaders.