Delhi: Farmers begin gathering at Jantar Mantar for ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’

Hundreds of farmers from different parts of the country started gathering at Jantar Mantar here on Monday morning to attend a ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ being organised by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha.

The mahapanchayat will deliberate on the long-pending demand for a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) for all crops, agriculture, dairy, poultry and fisheries sectors be kept out of any proposed agreement with the US, and withdrawal of police cases registered against farmers during the agitation against the now-repealed farm laws.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) said the gathering will remain peaceful and urged farmers and supporters to participate in large numbers. The Mahapanchayat comes nearly four years after the farmers’ movement of 2020-21, when thousands camped at Delhi’s borders demanding repeal of the three farm laws.

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The agitation ended after the Centre announced the withdrawal of the laws, but several farmer groups have since accused the government of not fulfilling its other promises, including a law on MSP.

A senior police officer said, “We have deployed around 1,200 police personnel at the site. We will ensure that nothing untoward happens and law and order are not disturbed.”

Samyukt Kisan Morcha leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said legal guarantee on minimum support price for all crops is a demand of farmers from across the country and not just those from Haryana and Punjab.

He made the remarks at the ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ being held at the Jantar Mantar here, with farmers from different parts of the country in attendance.

“In today’s mahapanchayat, we tried that farmers from across the country arrive here to put forth our demands… We want to tell the government that the demand for MSP is not only by the farmers of Punjab and Haryana, but also by farmers across the country,” Dallewal said.