Farmer agitation against farm laws will not be affected by 'bickering of political parties': SKM

In a statement, the organisation said, ''Kisan Andolan will continue peacefully and strongly till demands are fulfilled. Bickering of political parties, either within a party or between parties, is not going to affect the movement, nor will the change in chief minister of a state.'' Following a power tussle within the Congress party, Amarinder Singh resigned as the chief minister of Punjab on Saturday. After taking charge as Punjab's first Dalit chief minister, Channi on Monday urged the Centre to repeal the three farm laws.

The SKM, an umbrella body comprising over 40 farmer unions, said preparations for the 'Bharat Bandh' on September 27 are in full swing and that the protesting farmers have been receiving support from across the country.

''Various political parties are organising their own planning meetings in different states for making ‘Bharat Bandh' on September 27 a success. Various sections of society are stepping forward to express their support and solidarity to the ‘bandh’ call. Such is the power of democracy operationalised by the farmers' movement led by Samyukt Kisan Morcha,” it said.

It added that a state-level planning meeting in Erode in Tamil Nadu will be organised on Tuesday to ensure that the ‘bandh’ is a success, followed by a kisan panchayat in Ghoorpur Sabzi Mandi in Allahabad on September 23.

Farmers from different parts of the country, especially Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at Delhi borders since November last year, demanding the repeal of the three contentious farm laws that they fear would do away with the Minimum Support Price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.

The government, however, has been projecting the three laws as major agricultural reforms. Over 10 rounds of talks between the two parties have failed to break the deadlock.