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SKM to hold mass protests against interim budget on February 3
National coordination committee member of the SKM P Krisnaprasad said that on February 3, copies of the interim budget will be burnt at the village level and then a mass mobilisation drive will be started to observe ‘gramin bandh’ and industrial strike on February 16.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has planned pan-India protests in the next two weeks from Saturday against the Union government’s proposal to promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities.
National coordination committee member of the SKM P Krisnaprasad said that on February 3, copies of the interim budget will be burnt at the village level and then a mass mobilisation drive will be started to observe ‘gramin bandh’ and industrial strike on February 16.
The SKM leadership said that it opposes opening the agriculture sector to foreign and Indian monopoly capital for profiteering.
“The Centre’s proposal to promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities, including aggregation, modern storage, efficient supply chains, primary and secondary processing and marketing and branding opens the Indian agriculture sector to the corporate world. The proposals are nothing but handing over the agriculture sector on a platter to the corporate houses, both domestic and foreign,” he said.
“The proposed provisions amount to the back entry of the three farm laws that the Narendra Modi government was forced to repeal due to the pressure of historical farmers’ struggle at the Delhi borders. The SKM will oppose this proposal and ensure three provisions will not be enforced,” Krisnaprasad further added.
The farmer leader said from February 5, ‘pad yatras’ will be held at the village level to apprise the masses about the ill-effects of the budgetary provisions on the agrarian community.
“The 10-day-long mass contact has been planned to pressurise the Centre to roll back its anti-people budgetary provisions. We are including various trade unions and independent sectoral federations to make the protests a success,” he said.
The All India Kisan Union (AIKS), a key constituent of the SKM, said that even in the election year, the interim budget 2024-25 has “nothing substantial” to offer for the rural economy and the agricultural sector.
“The budget presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman shows massive cuts in rural development, MGNREGA, rural employment, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, cooperation, food storage and warehousing etc. It denotes the gross mismanagement of the economy by the BJP-led government in the past 10 years,” the AIKS added.
