All farmers to leave protest sites at Delhi borders by Dec 15, SKM to meet next on Jan 15: Rakesh Tikait

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said that all farmers, staging sit-in at Delhi borders against the now-repealed farm laws, will leave the protest sites by December 15. Tikait, who has been spearheading the protests, said that the Samyukt Kisan Morcha will hold its next meeting on January 15.

“All farmers will be leaving the protest sites by Dec 15. The next meeting of SKM will be on 15th Jan. Today, I will be leaving for a 3-day program in Haryana, Chandigarh and Amritsar to end the protests in those regions,” he said.

Singing, dancing and cheering, farmers on Saturday headed back home from Delhi borders on their tractor-trolleys after dismantling their tents and other structures at the end of a year-long sit-in against the Centre’s agri laws and were accorded a rousing welcome in the neighbouring states with sweets, garlands and showering of petals from aircraft.

Emotions ran high as the farmers performed ‘ardas’ (prayers) and ‘havan’ to thank the almighty and started their “victory march” from Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur protest sites to Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in convoys of tractors, bedecked with colourful flowers and lights and blaring songs of jubilation.

By Saturday evening, most farmers cleared the Singhu border protest site spread over 5-6 kilometers, leaving behind some tents. Similarly, at the Ghazipur border, the process of dismantling shelters was in full swing, but one of the protesting farmers said the site will be completely vacated by December 15.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of 40 farm unions, Thursday decided to suspend the movement against the farm laws and announced that farmers will go back home on December 11 from the protest sites.

The announcement came after the SKM, which is spearheading the movement, received a central government signed letter wherein it agreed to consider farmers” pending demands, including the withdrawal of cases against farmers and to form a committee on minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.