Farmers will protest outside Parliament every day during monsoon session: SKM

KEY STORY

• The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Sunday announced that a group of around 200 farmers will sit outside Parliament every day during the upcoming Monsoon session to register their protest against the Centre’s three farm laws.

• During a press conference, SKM, the umbrella body of 40 farmers unions protesting the farm laws, said that a “chetavani patra” will be handed out to every opposition MP to protest the farm laws inside Parliament.

• Parliament’s monsoon session is set to begin on July 19, and will be held over a period of 19 days.

• “We will also ask the opposition MPs on July 17 to raise the issue every day inside the House while we will sit outside in protest. We will tell them not to benefit the Centre by walking out of a session. Don’t let the session run till the government addresses the issue,” farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said.

• “We will be protesting outside Parliament continuously till they hear our demands,” Rajewal said, adding that five people from each farmer union would be taken to join the protest.

• The SKM also called for a nationwide protest on July 8 against the rising prices of petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders.

• It asked people to come out and park their vehicles along state and national highways from 10 am till 12 pm.

• “Whatever vehicle you have, tractor, trolley, car, scooter, just bring it to the nearest state or national highway and park it there. But don’t create a traffic jam,” Rajewal said.

• The farmer leader also appealed to people to “blow the horn of their vehicles” for eight minutes at 12 pm. He also asked for LPG cylinders to be brought to the protest.

CONCLUSION

• “I ask all the women to bring out their gas cylinders to the roads and be a part of the protest,” Rajewal said.

• Responding to a question regarding Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s recent statement that the government was ready to hold talks with the farmers, Rajewal said they “will not talk with conditions”.

• “The leaders want to talk about farm laws with conditions, we are ready to talk with them but only if they agree to repeal the laws,” Rajewal said.