A clash broke out today between agitating farmers and police in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district after which five farmers were killed in police firing.
Farmers have been protesting for a week demanding loan waiver and fair price for their produce in the district. The situation got violent when the farmers resorted to stone pelting at police due to which police had to open fire.
Although the government initially denied that the bloodshed was a result of police firing but later on Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered a judicial enquiry into the incident. A curfew was also imposed in the affected areas.
The government hiked the compensation of Rs 5 lakh to 10 lakh to the kin of deceased.
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# “Police started firing to disperse the crowd. Farmers were not carrying weapons,” said Gajendra Tokas of the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, or National Farm Workers’ Union, which has called a state-wide strike on Wednesday.
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# The state’s home minister, Bhupendra Singh, said police had not shot at the protesters, adding: “Anti-social elements in the crowd fired bullets.”
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# Farmers surrounded Piplya Mandi police station after which heavy police reinforcement was sent to control the situation.
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# Curfew was clamped in Pipalya Mandi area and prohibitory orders imposed in other parts of the district, officials said.
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# Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1 demanding minimum support price for their farm produce, among other things.
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# Farmers last week started a strike in the state and in western Maharashtra, dumping vegetables and milk on the roads to demand billions of dollars in debt forgiveness and better prices for produce.
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# On Monday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan assured that the government would purchase onions at Rs 8/kg and moong dal at an agreed price and to set up a Rs 1,000 crore stabilization fund. Though the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh called off its strike, the other organisations have continued with the stir.
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# The state has been facing shortage of milk and vegetables, leading to price hike. Farmers threw milk on the Agra-Malwa Highway last week and barred trucks from carrying vegetables. Several parts of the state faced a similar situation.
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# Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi accused the Centre of waging a war against the country’s farmers. “In Bharatiya Janata Party’s new India, our farmers get the bullets when they ask for their rights. This government is at war with the farmers of our country,” the Congress leader tweeted.
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# Farmers are on strike from June 1 to June 10, to demand loan waiver and fair price for their produce.