Lucknow Mahapanchayat: Farmers Pledge not to go Home Until They get Law on MSP in Parliament

Lucknow: Chanda, Phula Devi, Meera and Raspatali along with over two dozen marginal farmers hitch-hiked from Bhadohi to the state capital to participate in 'MSP Adhikar Mahapanchayat' at Eco Garden in Lucknow. They had a common question: how will they survive if the government snatches their small piece of land? For them, this is a fight is to save "land and future generations". They were among thousands of farmers, including from Awadh, Terai and Purvanchal region, who had reached early in the morning at Eco Garden to attend mahapanchayat,

"We are not fighting for ourselves. We are fighting for the generations to come. We don't want them feel that we did not fight for constitutional rights," Raspatali, who claims to not have received a single benefit announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, told NewsClick.

Besides the Bhadohi group, there was a group of farmers associated with Kheti Bachao Union who came from Shravasti district and were seen more excited as the mahapanchayat from Western Uttar Pradesh had finally reached Purvanchal and Awadh region. They had participated in political rallies several times but every leader disappointed them, as their rights were not heeded.

"More than repealing the three farm laws, we are happy that we got a union after 75 years which is raising only farmers' issues. There are several issues -- from stray cattle menace to selling crops below the minimum support price -- in Uttar Pradesh," Yaduvir Singh, a farmer from Shravasti, told NewsClick, adding that farm reforms being talked about by the government are cosmetic. "The biggest reform will be to make a law guaranteeing MSP,” he added.

Kuldeep Tiwari, a farmer from Ayodhya who was holding the banner of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), said: "Just because PM Modi said in an 'election rally' that he will withdraw the contentious farm laws, laws do not get repealed. Besides, this is just one of our key demands. The plight of farmers needs to be fully addressed,” he told NewsClick.

Meanwhile, shouting slogans, singing songs and carrying flags in red, green, yellow and blue, thousands of farmers from various groups and states on Monday gathered at the Eco Garden ground.

Chants of ‘Ajay Mishra ko jail ho' (the minister whose son accused of mowing down farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri) , 'tanashahi nahi chalegi’ (down with dictatorship), and 'kisan ekta zindabad' (long live farmers unity) could be heard loud and clear.

Meanwhile, langars, juice corners run by the multiple gurudwaras were quietly serving participants in the Lucknow Mahapanchayat.

MOVEMENT IS NOT OVER YET’

Despite the prime minister's surprise announcement, farmer leaders have maintained the protesters won't budge an inch until the three contentious laws are formally repealed in Parliament. They have also indicated continuation of the stir for a statutory guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill will continue.

The gathering at Eco Garden in Lucknow on Monday, was planned months before PM Modi announced repeal of the three contentious agri laws on Friday. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a collective body of over 40 farmers' unions, pressed for a law guaranteeing MSP and sacking of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, whose son is an accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

The families of Lakhimpur Kheri victims were also spotted on the stage with their children and relatives. They expressed 'satisfaction' over the announcement of the farm laws' repeal, one of the major demands of the protesters, adding that the loss of their family members cannot ever be compensated.

“Losing a member is an irreparable loss for the family which Modi won't understand. If the government had not introduced such contentious Bills, hundreds of lives would have been saved. He (Nachattar Singh) will be remembered forever for his contribution to India,” the deceased farmer’s son told NewsClick.

‘MSP LAW IS REAL BATTLE’

Thousands of farmers from Awadh, Terai and Purvanchal region reached early in the morning at Eco Garden to attend mahapanchayat. They said that the movement is not over yet until their demands are met. They said they would hold a similar rally in every part of the country. "If the government thinks farmers will return to their homes merely after the announcement, they are highly mistaken."

“The government is using all tactics to derail the stir, but we will continue it till the black laws are repealed in Parliament and legal guarantee on MSP is given,” said BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan.

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait, who has become the face of the farmers' protest against the Centre's three farm laws in Uttar Pradesh, said besides the repealing of the three farm agri laws, there are many issues of farmers that need to be resolved, including a legal guarantee for MSP, seed Bill and milk policy.

"The government neither spoke to the farmers before making the laws nor took farmers in the confidence even before making the announcement of repealing. It seems the government does not want to speak to the farmers. The government should make it clear that it has repealed the laws in the true sense and or it is only an election gimmick," said Tikait, adding that till the government does not speak to them about all the issues that are of concern to us, they will not go anywhere.”

Hannan Mollah, general secretary of AIKS, said over 700 farmers sacrificed their lives during the movement in one year and 7,000 more can sacrifice if needed to get the rights. "The BJP’s heart has not changed,” said Mollah, who is also a leader of the CPI(M).

Multiple speakers from Punjab said they had been asked whether their agitation would end now that the PM had announced a repeal of the laws, but they said. they would not stop till every farmer in the country was assured a MSP, just like they were getting in Punjab and Haryana.

Jagdeev Singh Dalewal, a farmer leader from Punjab, said: “We will not leave this movement midway. If we were to go back today, what would we answer when our families ask? What new did you get? We will get MSP for every farmer of this country.”

Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav said the impending repeal of the farm laws was like “Modiji taking back a gift that he wanted to give the farmers but one which the farmers did not want.”

“Now that he has taken back his gift, he needs to give the farmers the gift that they want,” said Yadav. He added that the election results in West Bengal were a ‘small dose’ for the ‘sick’ Central government, but now a ‘full dose’ needs to be given in the form of election results in Uttar Pradesh that would result in the BJP's defeat.

Farmers leaders at the mahapanchayat pointed out that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had 'threatened farmers that if they had the guts they should come to Lucknow for mahapanchayat. And on a day that the farmers landed in the city, he had chosen to leave the city for Gorakhpur.

Meanwhile, farmers also announced another mahapanchayat in PM’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi in coming weeks.