A ONE DAY PROTEST HELD AGAINST THE INDO-US AGRICULTURE AGREEMENT

A ONE DAY PROTEST HELD AGAINST THE INDO-US AGRICULTURE AGREEMENT

11-FEB-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA--------------------------A one-day protest was held in front of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Arrah as part of the statewide call of the All India Kisan Mahasabha! The protest was chaired by Dashrath Singh Kushwaha and conducted by farmer leader Manoj Yadav!

Addressing the protest, All India Kisan Mahasabha District Secretary Raju said, "We are the nation's food providers, and due to the government's wrong policies or corporate-friendly policies, we have reached a state of starvation and nakedness! Ignoring us will cost the country dearly! The people of the country will face a food crisis and the entire environmental balance will be disrupted!" He further stated that the India-US agricultural agreement should be canceled first. Irrigation is the foundation of agricultural life, therefore, all irrigation projects should be renovated and new ones constructed. The Indrapuri Reservoir (Kadvan Dam) should be constructed as soon as possible. The North Koel Canal Project should be completed without delay. All government tube wells should be made operational. By changing the format of the special land survey work, farmers should be provided with documents for agricultural land and the poor for residential land through physical verification of all types of land (agricultural and residential). Through physical verification, all farmers, including sharecroppers, should be registered and provided with the Kisan Samman Nidhi and all agricultural benefits.

Government procurement of all crops should be guaranteed with a legal guarantee of MSP. All agricultural markets should be reopened with the reinstatement of the APMC Act. The privatization of electricity should be stopped, and arrangements should be made for the return of smart meters and free electricity for farmers for agricultural work. Forceful and indiscriminate acquisition of agricultural land should be stopped, and adequate compensation and rehabilitation should be provided, strictly adhering to the 2013 law. The "New National Proposal on Agricultural Marketing," introduced with the intention of implementing the three black agricultural laws through backdoors, should be withdrawn immediately. The four labor codes (the Labor and Employment Act 2025), which turn workers into corporate slaves, should be withdrawn immediately.

8. The corporate-friendly Electricity Bill 2025 proposed by the Central Energy Department should be withdrawn immediately. The VB Grameen Act should be withdrawn immediately, and MNREGA should be restored.

The "Seed Bill 2025," proposed by the Central Agriculture Department, which compromises the health of the people of the country, should be withdrawn immediately.

The produce of sugarcane farmers, fruit and vegetable farmers, fish and poultry farmers, banana, maize, makhana farmers, and milk farmers should also be guaranteed government procurement by setting an MSP of 2.50% plus 50%.

All farmers' crops should be insured through public insurance companies. A monthly pension of ₹10,000 should be provided to all farmers, both men and women, who have completed 60 years of age. If the government does not meet these demands, a bigger movement will be launched.

Participating in the protest were CPI-ML Central Committee member Abhyudaya, Insaf Manch State Secretary Qayamuddin Ansari, CPI-ML District Office Secretary Dilraj Pritam, AISA District Secretary Vikas Kumar Roshan Kushwaha, farmer leaders Aman Kushwaha, Harendra Singh, Vishnu Thakur, Suresh Singh, Bhim Singh, Pankaj