Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Mahasangh calls off protests in MP

The Bhartiya Kisan Mazdoor Mahasangh (BKMM) Wednesday called off its scheduled protests in Madhya Pradesh on assurance of Chief Minister Kamal Nath to resolve the issues faced by cultivators.

The BKMM had announced to hold statewide protests from June 1 to June 5.

The union is mainly seeking remunerative price for farm produce.

"We have called off our scheduled strike," BKMM national president Shiv Kumar Sharma told PTI.

"The chief minister briefed us about the pro-farmer initiatives being taken by his government. Right now, we are satisfied with the government's stand towards the farm sector," said Sharma, a former ideologue of the RSS.

At the meeting, Nath announced that a state-level committee will be set up to resolve the issues of farmers, a government official said.

He said the CM told the farmer leaders that the state's economy cannot be strengthened without ensuring prosperity for farmers.

Nath told them that his government was implementing a farm loan waiver package as promised during the 2018 assembly polls under which debts to the tune of Rs 2 lakh are being written off.

The official said that farmer leaders were told that a "misinformation" campaign on the loan waiver was being run in the state for political reasons.