Report by Mazdoor Ekta Committee Correspondent
On 9 June, members of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, trade unions, and workers’ organizations held a protest and a public meeting in front of the District Magistrate’s office in Balia district, Uttar Pradesh, to highlight various issues faced by farmers and workers. During the event, they submitted a memorandum, addressed to the Chief Minister and to a representative of the District Magistrate.
Addressing the gathering, representatives of the participating organizations demanded an immediate halt to the rising prices of fertilizers, seeds, diesel, petrol, CNG, and electricity. They stated that the working class is in crisis due to changes in labour laws and anti-worker policies. The government and companies are exploiting consumers by citing war as a pretext.
By entering into a free trade agreement with the US, the central government is effectively enslaving local farmers. If commodities like grain, cotton, pulses, milk, and maize are imported cheaply from the US, who will buy the crops produced by Indian farmers? The free trade agreement with the US poses an increasing threat of destroying farmers’ livelihood and the agricultural sector.
They noted that the prices of oil and LPG cylinders are continuously rising, leading to a rapid increase in inflation.
The participating organizations demanded that urea, DAP, diesel, petrol, LPG, and CNG be made available in abundant quantities at previous rates to stop black marketing. They insisted that diesel supplies for farmers’ tractors should not be restricted and that farmers should not be compelled to produce land ownership documents to get fertilizers or diesel. They called for the enactment of a law guaranteeing Minimum Support Price (MSP) based on the ‘C2 + 50%’ formula, as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission. They demanded a ban on imports to protect crops such as grains, cotton, soybean, maize, and milk, and to safeguard agriculture and farmers. They also demanded the clearance of outstanding dues owed to sugarcane farmers and the scrapping of electricity privatization and smart meter schemes. Furthermore, they demanded 300 units of free electricity for domestic consumers and free electricity for farmers.
They also demanded a complete waiver of all loans taken by farmers and workers. They called for the withdrawal of the four anti-worker labour codes and demanded a minimum wage of ₹26,000 in the industrial sector. Additionally, they demanded the revitalization of the MGNREGA scheme, proposing an increase in work days to 200 and a daily wage of ₹600 under the scheme.
They urged the government to implement the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 and scrap the Seed Bill of 2025. Other demands included compensation for crop damage caused by storms, as well as fixing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) at ₹500 per quintal for sugarcane and ₹1,600 per quintal for potatoes.
The farmers concluded the meeting with the warning that the agitation would be intensified if the government did not accept their demands.