Farmers, Agrarian Workers’ Protest across Country, Submit Memorandum to Government
ALL India Kisan Mahasabha (AIKM) and All India Agricultural & Rural Labour Association (AIARLA) called for a one-day protest on 27 April 2020 to highlight the plight of workers and the poor who are paying the highest price due to Lockdown and the Corona pandemic and submitted a memorandum to the Modi government reiterating some important demands.
Bihar NREGA Mazdoor Sabha, Jharkhand Mazdoor Kisan Samiti and CPIML also participated in this countrywide protest and condemned the government for neglecting the workers’ lives and attacking the interests of farmers and rural poor in the name of the pandemic. These organizations appealed to the people to reject the politics of hate and divisiveness and give a befitting reply to those who are propagating rumors, lies, and hatred.
AIKMS, AIARLA, MNREGA Mazdoor Sabha and CPIML once again reiterated the demand for safe return of migrant workers, Rs 10,000 subsistence allowance for all poor families, Rs 500 minimum daily wage for MNREGA workers, and Rs 25000 per acre as crop loss compensation to farmers. The following are the main demands of the countrywide protest:
- Guarantee procurement of wheat, maize, and rabi crops of farmers and sharecroppers and Minimum Support Price at Panchayat level through FCI, Cooperative Samitis and other agencies.
- Compensation for crop loss due to hail-storms, excess rain, fire and Lockdown at the rate of Rs 20,000 per acre for rabi crops and Rs 25,000 per acre for fruits and vegetables. Pay this compensation to all farmers and sharecroppers without delay.
- Withdraw anti-people Electricity Reform Bill 2003 and end the present drive for privatization of electricity.
- FEED INDIA – FIGHT COVID! Arrange sufficient rations for workers and the poor; Rs 20 lakhs compensation for families of those who died due to Coronavirus/ hunger and police repression during Lockdown.
- Curb spreading of hatred against Muslims in the name of Corona. Strengthen social solidarity; defeat Corona pandemic!
- Arrange Corona test labs, ICU wards, and ventilator at all Base and District hospitals. Make arrangements for free testing and treatment of Corona.
AIKMS National General Secretary Rajaram Singh said that farmers’ plight is being appallingly neglected during the Lockdown, and the government should consider these demands and provide adequate and proper compensation immediately. He said that today’s protest is being observed at hundreds of centers across the country by thousands of farmers by holding dharnas in their homes and organizational offices; the farmers have tried to convey their demands to the Prime Minister through posters and e-mails. AIARLA Honorary President Rameshwar Prasad and National General Secretary Dhirendra Jha said that the Lockdown has pushed workers and poor onto the brink of starvation. They must be given three months’ rations as well as Rs 10,000 subsistence allowance. MNREGA workers should get a minimum of 200 days’ work and Rs 500 daily wage.
The lockdown has caused massive economic disruption & devastation. Expansion of MGNREGA work is the need of the hour.
In Tamilnadu, AIARLA held protest in many districts including Madurai, Karur, Pudukkottai, Tanjore, Cuddalore and Kallakurichy. Rural workers came in several Panchyats and villages and hamlets. Dharna, slogan shouting, plate banging and placards were used in these programmes. At some places memorandum were sent to the government through local authorities. The rural poor asserted in spite of Police highhandedness and intimidation which was witnessed during weeks under lockdown.
The dharna was observed in West Bengal, Odisha, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Tripura, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and other States.
Bankura, Bardhaman, Hooghly, Nadiya, Darjeeling and other Districts in West Bengal raised their voice, as did agrarian areas like Jhunjhunu and adivasi regions like Udaipur and Banswada in Rajasthan. Similarly, farmers and adivasis raised their voice in Kendrapada and Raigarha (Odisha), Dibrugarh (Assam), Chandauli (Uttar Pradesh), Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), Gurdaspur and Mansa (Punjab) and many other places.
All CPIML MLAs, Panchayat representatives, and many agrarian workers’ organizations and Scheme workers participated in the protest, while strictly observing Lockdown rules. They have demanded that the Central government and all State governments take immediate action to fulfill the demands of the farmers and rural workers; only then can the Corona pandemic be truly fought and defeated.
