On the 26th of April 2015, Ekta Parishad introduces a four-day-fast in Neelam Park in Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh. Ekta Parishad-founder and Gandhian Rajagopal P.V. will fast for four days to make clear that the government should take care of farmers and marginalized people and not just represent the interests of corporates. The hunger strike will be supported by various social movements across the country and is a warning protest to government.
The main demands of this action are:
1) The reconstitution of a Land Reform task force in Madhya Pradesh which should work on the issues of land. The Honorable High Court of Madhya Pradesh ordered Government of Madhya Pradesh to reconstruct the task force.
2) We want to defend an initiative from the Government which gives corporates the possibility to buy agriculture land. The M.P. Government leading under BJP made a notification of diversion process in the aquisition of land: On the 26th march 2015 the government made changes in the diversion process to sell land to non-farmer interest groups. In the last weeks, more than a dozen of farmers had commited suicide but the government still support the benefit of corporates.
3) Another initative of Government is to make changes on an act which brings out that non-tribal-groups can buy tribals land.
Ekta Parishad-founder Rajagopal P.V. says on the press conference in Bhopal:
"The process to get land is being made to easy for businessman. Also national and international conglomerates can now get an easily access to land". The conversion of agriculture land into non-agriculture land in the name of development proceeds really fast and make hundreds of thousands of farmers landless.
Rajagopal P.V., Ekta Parishad-president Dr. Ran Singh Parmar and national convener Shraddha Kyashap and Aneesh Kumar mentioned in the press conference that hundreds of farmers will start the hunger strike in Bhopal. They protest against the non-fullfillment of promises made by government to tribals, marginalized and farmers.
The fast will take place in the capital of Madhya Pradesh also because this state is not properly implementing „pro poor land acts“ like FRA and PESA. For that, a large numbers of farmers and tribals will participate the hunger strike in Bhopal to raise their voice. The state government of Madhya Pradesh made a lot of promises about land rights. But yet none of them has implemented for the victims.
Ekta Parishad calls for national and international support to this important protest: It is not longer acceptable how the government is dealing with farmers and tribals. A call for action in Social Media and mouth-to-mouth will support our actions from 26th to 29th of April in Bhopal.