CPI(ML) BLOCKADES ROAD TO DEMAND CANCELLATION OF US AGRICULTURAL AGREEMENT AND WITHDRAWAL OF FOUR LABOUR LAWS

CPI(ML) BLOCKADES ROAD TO DEMAND CANCELLATION OF US AGRICULTURAL AGREEMENT AND WITHDRAWAL OF FOUR LABOUR LAWS

15-FEB-ENG 10

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA--------------------------In support of the national strike by all trade unions across the country demanding cancellation of the India-US agricultural agreement and withdrawal of four labor code laws, the CPI(ML) blocked the road at the Ara bus stand for approximately one hour. After the road blockade, a procession was taken out through various routes of the city, reaching the Ara railway station premises, where a meeting was held.

Addressing the gathering, CPI(ML) leaders said that we are the nation's food providers, and due to the government's wrong policies or corporate-friendly policies, we have become hungry and naked. 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 cancelled first! Irrigation is the foundation of agricultural life, therefore, all irrigation projects should be renovated and new ones should be constructed! 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 the facilities available in the agricultural sector.

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 ensured, 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introduced with the intention of implementing the three black agricultural laws through backdoors, should be withdrawn. The four labor codes (Shram Shakti Act 2025) that turn workers into corporate slaves should be withdrawn immediately.

The pro-corporate 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 country's people, should be withdrawn immediately!

The MSP of sugarcane farmers, fruit and vegetable farmers, fish and poultry farmers, banana, maize, makhana farmers, and milk farmers should also be fixed at 2% plus 50%, guaranteeing government procurement of their produce.

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 reached 60 years of age. If the government does not meet these demands, a larger movement will be launched!

Participating in the road blockade were CPI-ML Central Committee members Abhiyudaya and Raju Yadav, State Committee member and former MLA from Agiaon Shiv Prakash Ranjan, State Committee member Vijay Ojha, City Secretary Sudhir Kumar Singh, State Committee member Qayamuddin Ansari, AISA District Secretary Vikas Kumar, Roshan Kushwaha, Aman Kushwaha, and Harendra. Dozens of leaders including Singh, Vishnu Thakur, Sangeeta Singh, Vishal Kumar, Sushil Yadav, Ajay Gandhi, Niranjan Kesari, Suresh Singh, Suresh Paswan, Santvilas Ram, Hareram Singh, Harinath Ram, Sahil Arora, Kalavati Devi, Rajesh Gupta, Ritesh Kumar were present.