Farmers submit memorandum to Union agriculture minister; seek MSP law

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) on Monday submitted a memorandum to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, demanding a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for all crops and the exclusion of agriculture and allied sectors from any proposed trade agreement between India and the United States.

The farmers' body said the memorandum was handed over to the Delhi Police during a "Kisan Mahapanchayat" organised at Jantar Mantar here. Thousands of farmers from across the country participated in the event despite heavy rains and traffic disruptions caused by police checks at several points.

According to the SKM (non-political), the agriculture ministry wrote to it late on Sunday night, saying a meeting with a delegation of farmers would be fixed soon to discuss their pending demands.

The memorandum reiterated three main issues -- the fulfilment of the demands raised during the farmers' agitation at the Shambhu, Khanauri and Ratnapura border points of Delhi, including the enactment of an MSP-guarantee law, keeping agriculture, dairy, poultry and fisheries outside the ambit of any India-US trade pact and withdrawing the cases lodged against farmers during their 2020-21 movement.

"Farmers cannot be left at the mercy of market fluctuations. We want to make it clear that the demand for MSP is not limited to Punjab and Haryana, but is shared by cultivators across the country," SKM leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal said.

The organisation said farmer leaders from multiple states, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, attended the mahapanchayat, which was conducted peacefully.

Police officials said around 1,200 personnel were deployed at and around the protest site to ensure law and order.

The gathering came nearly four years after the year-long farmers' agitation at Delhi's borders that led to the repeal of three contentious farm laws. PTI MHS RC