‘Worker-Farmer Parliament’ In Delhi On March 9 To Protest India-US Trade Deal

Kurukshetra, Feb 25:  Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella organisation of farmers in the country, on Tuesday said it will launch nationwide protests against the India-US trade agreement.

The decision was taken at its national council meeting at Jat Dharamshala in Haryana’s Kurukshetra, which was attended by over 150 participants from nine States. The coalition of farmers’ unions also resolved to hold a ‘Worker-Farmer Parliament’ at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on March 9, coinciding with the resumption of the Budget Session of Parliament, according to a statement from the SKM.

To create awareness about the harmful effects of the India-US trade deal, Kisan Mahapanchayats will be held in all states, starting in Barnala in Punjab on March 10 and continuing across the country until April 13. The meeting was chaired by a seven-member presidium comprising Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Rakesh Tikait, Ashok Dhawale, Ashish Mittal, Jagmohan Singh, Rajan Kshirsagar, and Joginder Singh Nain.

Addressing the meeting, Joginder Singh Ugrahan said that farmers have begun preparations for a movement against the US-India trade deal. Senior farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said that the trade deal will not only harm farmers but also labourers and shopkeepers. Tikait further said that the farmers’ ideological revolution has begun. He added that we must maintain good relations with our friendly countries.

Farmers will march to local post offices and send an open letter to the President of India, calling for the removal of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, urging the Prime Minister not to sign the trade agreement, and requesting the Union Finance Minister to revoke the alleged order eliminating bonuses for wheat and paddy farmers.

From February 27th, SKM delegations will meet Chief Ministers and opposition leaders in various states to protest the central government’s “centralisation of power” and to demand the restoration of states’ authority to levy taxes under the GST Act, as well as an increase in their share of the divisible tax pool from 33 per cent to 60 per cent.

More than 150 representatives from nine states, including Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Kerala, attended the meeting.