Farmers from Shambhu border threaten to resume march towards Delhi on Dec 6

To intensify agitation, start fast unto death from Nov 26, demanding legal MSP

Farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) (apolitical), which has been staging protest on Haryana-Punjab borders since February demanding legalisation of the minimum support price (MSP), have decided to intensify their agitation and march towards Delhi on foot from December 6.

 

The march will be held in small groups of 50-100 people moving towards Delhi in batches.

 

Permission has also been sought from the police in Delhi to allow the farmers to enter the national capital in small groups, Mahesh Choudhary, a spokesman of SKM (apolitical) told Business Standard.

 

Senior farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal of BKU (Ekta-Sidhupur) group has also decided to sit on fast unto death from November 26 in support of their demands. They include legalising MSP for all crops, among others.

   

“If the government does not respond to the fast and something untoward happens to Dallewal, then other leaders will fill in his place,” Choudhury said.

 

He said that since February 13, farmers have been protesting at Shambhu, Khanauri and Ratanpur fronts for their demands. Despite nine months, the government has not accepted their demands.

 

“We have tried talking to the government many times, but it seems no one is interested,” the leader said.

 

They had earlier rejected all proposals sent by the government, including assured purchase of crops if farmers diversify from wheat and rice, among others.

 

Meanwhile, the leaders also decided that in many states of South India, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, peaceful demonstrations will be held at the district headquarters in support of the fast unto death.

 

The farmers said that the Parliament session is starting from  November 25 and the ruling party should fulfil its promises and implement the demands of farmers.

 

They added that opposition parties should also raise the demands of farmers in Parliament and bring a private member Bill on MSP purchase guarantee law.

 

Main demands of farmers

 

• All crops should be purchased at MSP and an MSP guarantee law should be there. Crop prices are fixed according to the Swaminathan Commission report

• Farmers and labourers should be completely freed from debt

• The Land Acquisition Act 2013 should be re-implemented across the country

• The culprits of the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre should be punished and the victim farmers should get justice

• India should come out of the World Trade Organization.

• All free trade agreements (FTAs) should be stopped

• Farmers and farm labourers should be given pension

• The families of farmers martyred in the Delhi farmers' movement should be given a compensation of Rs 1 lakh and a job.

• Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 should be repealed

• MGNREGA should provide 200 days of employment per year and a wage allowance of Rs 700. MGNREGA should be linked with agriculture.

• There should be provision for strict punishment and penalty on companies manufacturing fake seeds, pesticides and fertilisers and the quality of seeds should be improved

• A national commission should be formed for chilli, turmeric and other spices

• List 5 of the Constitution should be implemented and the plunder of tribal land should be stopped while ensuring the rights of tribals on water, forest and land 

Civil society says traces of illegal GM maize found in processed food

 

Civil society activists have said that a paper published by scientists from the National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management in Thanjavur (NIFTEM-T) have found evidence of illegal GM maize being commercially sold in processed food and unprocessed maize grains in India.

 

Demanding strict action against the illegal spread of GM maize, the Coalition for GM-Free India, in a letter to Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), Fssai and others said the study by NIFTEM used ATR-FTIR and PCR-based approaches for detecting GM maize.

 

Out of 34 maize samples analysed by PCR, 15.39 per cent were found to be GM maize positive.

 

Apart from the evidence of illegal GM maize cultivation, the study also shows evidence of GM maize in processed foods, the letter said.