Farm Laws: Kisan Mahapanchayats to be held in Maharashtra from February 11

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) will further escalate its agitation against the farm laws of the Centre after February 11. As part of this plan, the farmers' Kisan Mahapanchayats will also be conducted in Maharashtra, said AIKS President and CPI(M) Central Committee Member Ashok Dhawale. 

The Kisan Mahapanchayats are to be conducted in Thane, Palghar, Nashik, Ahmednagar and other districts in Maharashtra. The sessions will not be held concurrently, but based on the consensus of local farmer representatives at various times. 

Thousands of protesting farmers had gathered in the Shamli district of Western Uttar Pradesh earlier on Friday for a Kisan Mahapanchayat. Dhawale told that at the major gatherings they would pass a resolution opposing the three anti-farmer laws of Modi Government.  

New regulations for the introduction of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for agricultural goods should be pursued. There is also a proposal by Reliance Industries Ltd and Adani Group to escalate the boycott of goods and services. The AIKS President said that a meeting will be held in Thane and Palghar districts on February 11 to further schedule the Kisan Mahapanchayats movement. 

Kisan Mahapanchayats would not be AIKS' only domain, but it would be a forum for meetings between the various parts of society opposed to farm laws. Such meetings will be close to the protest meeting of farmers held at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on 25 January. 

The Kisan Mahapanchayats will also put and pass a resolution demanding the release of 112 farmers in separate jails for protesting against the farm laws. Farmers' local concerns will also be taken up in such discussions, he added. A new law for remunerative procurement of farm products is essential for a state like Maharashtra. 

In Maharashtra, today's procurement dependent on MSP has little relevance as the goods are not bought on the basis of the MSP formula, Dhawale alleged.