Farmers denounce Centre’s ‘pro-US’ policies; demand rollback

New Delhi: The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and a joint platform of Central Trade Unions (CTUs) on Monday held a 'Mazdoor-Kisan Parliament' at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, demanding that the Centre abandon its "pro-US and pro-corporate" policies, PTI reported.

The event was organised on the first day of the second half of the Budget Session of Parliament.

In a statement, the CTUs and the SKM "warned the Union government to give up belligerent and authoritarian measures of imposing corporate-driven, pro-US policies and legislations or face prolonged, pan-India united struggles by farmers and workers".

It said, according to a statement, "The Sansad called upon farmers and workers to gear up for massive struggles and appealed for coordinated support of movements from all working and democratic sections of the people."

The SKM said farmers and workers will observe March 23, 2026, the martyrdom day of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, as 'Anti-Imperialist Day' against the proposed free trade deal with the US.

April 1, 2026, will be observed as an 'All-India Black Day' against the implementation of the four labour codes, while mahapanchayats will be held across states to mobilise support for what it termed anti-corporate mass struggles, it said.

The statement said speakers at the Mazdoor-Kisan Parliament strongly condemned what they described as the Union government's "shameful surrender" to US pressure in accepting an "unequal and exploitative" Indo-US interim trade framework.

They also accused the government of acting in tandem with corporate interests to implement "anti-worker and anti-farmer measures." The gathering also criticised the Centre for not implementing the written assurances given to the SKM on December 9, 2021, following the farmers' agitation against the three now-repealed farm laws.

The declaration adopted at the event demanded that Parliament enact a law guaranteeing the procurement of all crops at a minimum support price (MSP) based on the Swaminathan Commission formula.

It also called for modernisation of agriculture through producer cooperatives, agro-based industries under the public and cooperative sectors, and an end to what it termed corporate takeover of agriculture.