AIKMS CEC delegation consisting of President Com. V Venkatramaiah, Vice President, Com. JV Chelapathirao, Com. Dattar Singh CEC member from Punjab and Com. Dharampal Singh, CEC member from UP visited Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradhesh on June 21, 2017. The team visited 7 villages – Pipliya Chonpet, Badkerapant, Pipliya Mandi, Richa, Buda, Chilo Pipliya and Tekaravad and talked to a wide cross section of peasants.
The delegation also met the families of the martyrs Abhishek, Dinesh Patidar in Badkerapant, Kanhaiyalal Patidar in Chilo Pipliya and Poonam Chand at Tekaravad, paid homage and consoled the families. In Richa village it met Ram Singh and Joginder Singh who were seriously injured in the police firing.
The team concluded that peasants of this area are facing serious economic crises. The immediate cause of unrest was rapid and drastic fall of prices of all agricultural produce to just half or one fourth of its earlier price. With input costs increasing year after year, the peasants have become deeply indebted. For this reason suicides of farmers also are continuing.
Instead of solving these problems, the govt of Shivraj Singh Chauhan allowed a section of goons and local businessmen to attack the peacefully protesting farmers and then, when the farmers tried to intensify their agitation the police fired straight on their bodies with the intention to kill. It did not even follow the legal norms of issuing a warning, resorting to lathi charge, firing in the air, firing water cannons, etc. It opened firing on the peasants aiming to kill. Peasants Chainram and Giropat Patidar (23 years) were shot dead in the police station itself.
The team said Madhya Pradesh state govt and CM are responsible for the firing on and killing of 6 peasants. Even now people have complained that the police is going in the villages and threatening the peasants with arrests.
AIKMS has demanded:
a) That the police be stopped from threatening the villagers. All police persons responsible for these brutal killings should be arrested. All cases foisted against peasants should be withdrawn.
b) The MP govt should waive all loans of farmers and take necessary measures to stop the suicides of the farmers.
c) The state govts should intervene to procure all the crops produced by farmers at profitable prices.
d) The central and state govts should implement the recommendations of Swaminathan Commission regarding MSP which should be 50% more than the cost of produce. No purchase at less than the MSP should be allowed. A new law to guarantee this should be enacted.
AIKMS has strongly condemn the adamant attitude of the MP govt. towards these just demand of the peasants. It has threatened to build an all India movement on this issue.