Chandigarh, March 17 — The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) announced a march to the Punjab Assembly on March 26, days after police blocked its attempt to enter Chandigarh for a week-long protest.
SKM leaders, including Darshan Pal, Jangveer Singh Chauhan, and Binder Singh Golewala, decided at a meeting on Sunday that farmers would assemble at Chandigarh’s Sector 34 ground before heading toward the Assembly. The march coincides with the Punjab government’s budget presentation for 2025-26.
On March 5, Punjab Police had detained several farmer leaders while preventing their protest in support of demands such as the purchase of six crops at minimum support price (MSP) by the state government.
SKM leaders criticized Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP leaders for allegedly misleading people by claiming the farmers’ demands were solely related to the Centre. They challenged Mann and his ministers to prove their stance and even proposed a debate on the issues.
The SKM, which led the 2020 agitation against the repealed farm laws, is demanding the implementation of Punjab’s agricultural policy, a legal framework for debt relief, land ownership rights for tillers, and pending sugarcane payments.
It is also opposing “forcible” land acquisition for Bharatmala projects and seeking compensation for families of farmers who died during the 2020-21 protests. Additional demands include stopping prepaid electricity meters, addressing the stray animal issue, and cracking down on black marketing of fertilizers and spurious seeds.
