Farmers take out tractor march in many parts of Punjab on call given by Samyukta Kisan Morcha

Farmers from various organizations under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Sunday took out tractor parades at several places in Punjab in support of their demands. These include legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP), comprehensive loan waiver scheme for farmers and farm laborers, stopping privatization of electricity, withdrawal of National Policy Framework on Agricultural Market (NPFM) and loan waiver, among other demands. 

Black flags were placed on the tractors

Hundreds of farmers, including senior SKM leaders, took part in the tractor march to highlight the demands of the farmers. At some places, black flags were prominently placed on their tractors.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha had called upon farmers to take out tractor, motorcycle parades at district, division level across the country on the occasion of Republic Day on January 26. SKM said in a recent statement that to achieve all the pending demands, a massive, determined and nationwide struggle bigger than the historic farmer struggle on the Delhi border of 2020-21 will have to be planned.

On the other hand, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) along with SKM (non-political) held protests at various places in the state, in which farmers associated with these organizations parked their tractors outside big shopping malls and other places. 

SKM (non-political) has been leading the farmers' protest at Khanauri and Shambhu border sites for the last 11 months. KMM leaders said that the protest is aimed at showing solidarity with small traders and businessmen who are allegedly being marginalized by corporate houses. The event was called to express solidarity with farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal.

Farmers invited for talks

A high-level delegation of the Central Government led by Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Priya Ranjan had recently invited SKM (non-political) and KMM for a meeting to be held in Chandigarh on February 14 to discuss their demands. 

Following this, senior SKM (non-political) leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal took medical help, but he did not end his indefinite fast, which he began on November 26 over various demands of farmers.