Farmers To Hold Tractor Marches Across Country On August 15

New Delhi: Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha on Monday said that they will hold tractor marches across the country on August 15 over farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP for crops.

Addressing a press conference, Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) leader Sarvan Singh Pandher said the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' march will complete 200 days on August 31 and appealed to people to reach Khanauri and Shambhu points on the Punjab and Haryana border.

A joint statement issued by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and KMM said farmers will march to district headquarters across the country and burn effigies of the ruling BJP on August 1.

On August 15, farmers will hold tractor marches across districts to press various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said, "We want to make one thing clear that whenever the borders are reopened, we will load our belongings in our trolleys and move towards Delhi within a week because on February 13, we came out to go to Delhi." On July 10, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the Haryana government to open the barricades at the Shambhu border within a week on an "experimental basis". The court also directed the Punjab government to ensure that the protesters gathered in its territory are "duly controlled as and when the situation so requires".

After the press conference, 11 MPs met the farmer leaders. Shiromani Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Congress' Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and AAP's Malvinder Singh Kang were among the MPs who met the farmers.

Why are Farmers Protesting?

Farm union leaders are seeking guarantees, backed by law, of more state support or a minimum purchase price for crops. The government announces support prices for more than 20 crops each year to set a benchmark, but state agencies buy only rice and wheat at the support level, benefiting around just 7% of farmers who raise those crops.