12 major opposition parties including Congress support farmers’ call to observe May 26 as Black Day in Delhi

Twelve major opposition parties including Congress have announced their support to the farmer union’s call to observe May 26 as the ‘Black Day for Democracy’.

On May 26, the farmers’ agitation against the three agri laws set by the government will complete six months.

The opposition parties on Sunday announced their support three days after the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of 40 farmers’ unions, announced that it would observe May 26 as a ‘Black Day For Democracy’.

“We extend our support to the call given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) to observe a countrywide protest day on May 26 marking the completion of six months of the heroic peaceful Kisan struggle,” read the joint statement issued by the 12 major opposition parties.

The joint statement was signed by opposition leaders Sonia Gandhi (Congress), HD Deve Gowda (JD-S), Sharad Pawar (NCP), Mamata Banerjee (TMC), Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena), MK Stalin (DMK), Hemant Soren (JMM), Farooq Abdullah (JKPA), Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), D Raja (CPI) and Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M).

In the statement, the opposition parties demanded immediate repeal of the farm laws and the legal entitlement to the Minimum Support Price (MSP) as well as the implementation of the recommendation of the Swaminathan Commission.

The statement said: “On May 12, 2021 we had jointly written to Prime Minister Modi saying the follow-ing: ‘Repeal farm laws to protect lakhs of our annadatas becoming victims of the pan-demic so that they can continue to produce food to feed the Indian people’.”

“We demand the immediate repeal of the farm laws and the legal entitlement to the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of C2+50 per cent as recommended by the Swami-nathan Commission,” the statement said.

The Central Government must stop being obdurate and immediately resume talks with the SKM on these lines, it further said.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha on May 20 gave a call to observe May 26, 2021 as a Black Day For Democracy.

An official release by SKm said: “That is the day PM Narendra Modi led Government took oath of office in 2014 and then again on 30th May in 2019. 26th May is the day when the Chalo Dilli Kisan Andolan completes six months. It is also the day when the All India Strike called by the Central Trade Unions becomes six months old.”