Farmers from across India to march to Parliament on March 20, says All India Kisan Sabha

(From left) CPI district secretary K.K. Valsa Raj, All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS ) national president Ravula Venkaiah, AIKS state Secretary V. Chamunni, and AIKS state president J. Venugopalan Nair at a public meeting to mark the conclusion of AIKS state rally in Thrissur on Friday.
| Photo Credit: K.K. Najeeb

All India Kisan Sabha national president Ravula Venkaiah has demanded the Central government to set up a national farm debt relief commission to address the debt-related grievances of farmers in the country. The farmers from across the country will march to Parliament on March 20, he said.

He was addressing a public meeting here on Friday, marking the conclusion of the State-wide ‘Karshaka Raksha Yathra’ taken out by the All India Kisan Sabha to hear the grievances of farmers from the State.

While J. Venugopalan Nair, AIKS state president, led the North region (Kasaragod to Thrissur) procession, V. Chamunni, AIKS state secretary, led the South Region rally from (Thiruvananthapuram to Thrissur ).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi betrayed farmers by not fulfilling the promises he made a year ago. No steps were taken to fulfil the promises to usher in ‘Goods Days’ (achhe din), he said

“Legal guarantee of the minimum support price for farm produce is the main demand by the farmers. Most of the farmers are selling their produce for less than the cost of production, which often pushes them to debt traps. The Centre should set up a debt relief commission to deal with farm loans,” he noted.

Implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendation is another important demand, he said.

He called on the farmers, irrespective of region, caste and political affiliation to join the protest against the Central government’s anti-farmer policies.

Former Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar presided over.