Tractor Rallies on January 26: SKM to Protest Against Rural Development Cess & Electricity Act Amendment Bill; Calls it Govt's Betrayal!

In a meeting held in Haryana's Karnal, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) resolved to organize massive tractor rallies throughout the state to protest against government's plan to tax farmers for rural development.

The farmer body demanded legal assurances for MSPs and denounced the BJP government for its 'anti-farmer' posture.

The meeting demanded the withdrawal of the Rural Development Cess on farmers brought in by the Haryana government, and further condemned the government's betrayal of farmers by introducing the Electricity Act Amendment Bill in Parliament, which it had earlier assured to withdraw.

The decision to mark Republic Day while hosting tractor rallies and protest march across Haryana, without interfering with official government activities, was unanimously made during the meeting.

The union said that the district collectors will be sent a memo ahead of the rally. On January 26, a sizable Kisan Mahapanchayat of farmers from North Indian States will take place at Jind in Haryana, it added.

SKM further noted that the dates of the Kisan rally to be held in Delhi in the month of March 2023 will be revealed in Jind on January 26 next year.

The Mahapanchayat will convene and announce the next steps in a powerful display of Kisan unity, to 'fascist, sectarian forces undermining the Indian Constitution and democracy, while also raising issues affecting farmers', said the farmer body during a conference in Karnal.

Moreover, SKM asked that Ajay Misra Teni be removed from the Cabinet and that prompt action be taken against those responsible for the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. Additionally, it demanded the release of farmers who are still incarcerated.

The farmer body requested an end to police harassment of farmers and the removal of fabricated charges. It denounced the IT Department's and central authorities' raids on Punjabi musicians Kanwar Grewal and Ranjit Bawa, who both backed the Kisan movement earlier.

It also protested the demolition of the homes of more than 20 people who immigrated from Pakistan and resided in Latifpura by the Punjab government in Jalandhar.