Farmers to stage tractor march in Karnal on Republic Day

On the call of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), farmer organisations in the district will hold a tractor march on January 26 (Republic Day). The march will start from the Ramleela Ground in the city, with tractors adorned with the Tricolour and proceed through the city’s main roads before concluding at the Mini Secretariat. There, farmers plan to submit a memorandum to district authorities for the government.

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A meeting to prepare for the tractor march was held at Kisan Bhawan on Thursday. During the meeting, farmer leaders accused the government of failing to honour agreements made with them and misleading the farming community.

Raising slogans against the government, the farmers demanded immediate action on their key issues, including the implementation of a minimum support price (MSP) guarantee law, an end to privatisation efforts, a complete loan waiver, subsidised electricity, withdrawal of cases related to stubble burning and justice for the Lakhimpur Kheri victims.

Bahadur Mehla Baldi, spokesperson for the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Sar Chhotu Ram), said, “On Republic Day, farmers across the state will organise tractor marches at the district level on SKM’s call. Farmers are peacefully bringing their demands to the government’s attention and the general public has been made aware of these issues.”

He added that the demand for a legal guarantee for MSP remains unmet. “The government is misleading farmers with false claims about MSP purchases. Additionally, attempts to privatise mandis and reintroduce scrapped farm laws in another form are unacceptable,” he said.

Surender Sangwan, another senior farmer leader, criticised the government for ignoring farmers’ demands. “The government has forced farmers to hold tractor marches on Republic Day by neglecting their concerns. While several attempts were made to suppress the farmers’ movement, it has only grown stronger,” he said.

Surinder Singh, district president of BKU (Tikait), assured that the tractor march would be peaceful and intended to highlight the farmers’ demands.