‘Kisan Mukti Sadassu’ held state convention at Tarnaka

Hyderabad: The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) successfully organised the ‘Kisan Muti Sadassu’ state convention at Tarnaka on Thursday. More than 500 farmers and farmer union activists from across Telangana attended the convention. 

More than 500 farmers and farmer union activists from across Telangana attend the convention

National leaders Yogendra Yadav from Delhi, Dr Sunilam from Madhya Pradesh, Dr Prakash Pople from Maharashtra, joined senior leaders from Telangana including  Prof Kodandaram, S Malla Reddy, V Venkatramayya, Kanneganti Ravi, Kirankumar Vissa, Pasya Padma, AchuthaRamarao, B Veeranna, Upender Reddy and others were present at the programme.

AIKSCC is a common platform of 190 farmer organisations from across India, including many of the biggest ones in India. In Telangana, 24 organisations are part of AIKSCC and the nationwide movement for ‘Kisan Mukti Bills.’

The organisation organised the nationwide Kisan Mukti Yatra across 22 states from the month of July, 2017 to November, 2017. In the historic ‘Kisan Mukti Sansad’ (Farmers’ Parliament) held in Delhi, on November 20, 2017. 

AIKSCC introduced two draft ‘Kisan Mukti Bills’ on its main demands “Asssured Remunerative Prices for Agricultural Produce” and “Farmers’ Freedom from Debt.” Since then, AIKSCC has been organising state-level and district-level meetings across the country to build support for the Bills. The convention at Hyderabad is part of this process.

Yogendra Yadav, national leader and working group member of AIKSCC, said, “At a time when India’s farmers are facing three kinds of crisis – economic, environmental and existential – we unfortunately have the worst anti-farmer Central Government in India’s history. 

Through united struggle of farmers across the country through Kisan Mukti Yatra and Sansad, we forced the government to respond and make announcements on Minimum Support Price (MSP). But the government is using false formulas to mislead the farmers. 

Even the low MSPs announced by the government are not reaching the farmers. Arun Jaitley has allocated only Rs 200 crores while the requirement is more than Rs 33,000 crores” He explained the Kisan Mukti Bills on the issues of freedom from debt and assured remunerative prices. He gave a call to all farmer organizations for a campaign in every market yard – not to allow any crop to be sold below the announced MSP.

Dr Sunilam, national working group member of AIKSCC and two-time MLA from Madhya Pradesh, said, “The government cheated the farmers of the nation by not implementing its promise of MSP at one-and-a-half times the Cost of Production. 

The Finance Minister used the wrong formulas of cost calculation to mislead the farmers and claim in the Budget speech that they are already providing MSP as per their promise. AIKSCC leaders will burn copies of the Budget speech in Hyderabad, and is doing the same in hundreds of places across the country to expose the false-hoods of the Centre.”

Dr Prakash Pople of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatan said, “In Maharashtra, we were part of the NDA government with two Ministers from our farmers’ party – because we believed the PM’s promise on the MSPs. 

When it was clear that the Central government is not implementing its promise to farmers, our leader Raju Shetty, Lok Sabha MP declared that we are leaving the NDA. This time, farmers should vote only to those parties or candidates who will implement the Kisan Mukti Bills.”

Prof Kodandaram of Telangana JAC said, “It is a historic occasion that for the very first time, more than 190 organizations across India have come together on a common platform. It is a major success that after the Kisan Mukti Sansad, the Central government is forced to respond through its budget speech about the MSPs. 

To achieve the full success, this struggle should continue. It is important to convert the Kisan Mukti Bills into Acts by the Parliament through support of all political parties – only then farmers will get these as rights and not as empty promises. Telangana should be at the forefront of farmers’ struggles to inspire the rest of the country.”

The provisions of the two Kisan Mukti Bills were discussed by the speakers, and endorsed at the convention. Various leaders of farmer unions spoke at the convention. Other important speakers included SarampalliMalla Reddy, All India Kisan Sabha Vice president, Vemulapalli Venkata Ramaiah, 

All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha President, KirankumarVissa of RythuSwarajyaVedika and member of National working group, Kanneganti Ravi, Telangana Rythu JAC Convenor, Pasya Padma, leader of Telangana RashtraRaituSangham, Achutha Rama Rao, All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha, T. Sagar, Telangana RaituSangham, Upendar Reddy, Telangana RythangaSamakhya and BhutamVeeranna, TelanangaRaitu Coolie Sangham.