5 years of Farmers’ Protest 2020–21 Marked, Concerns on Bills Raised

On 26 Nov, India’s Constitution Day, farmers marked five years of the historic Farmers’ Protest 1.0 (2020–21). Led by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), around 20K farmers from all over Panjab gathered at Sector 43 in Chandigarh to commemorate the historic movement and raised concerns on the proposed Seeds Bill and four Labor Codes. Calling these a move towards greater centralization, they also sought the government to withdraw its National Education Policy, 2020 and the Electricity (Amendment) Bill. Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan said, ‘the Electricity (Amendment) Bill was a sure way of giving control of power distribution to the corporate sector. Smart chip meters as part of the privatization drive are strong indicators of the Bill being implemented. Similarly, the Seeds Bill would allow seeds, even controversial hybrid varieties of multinational companies, to control the agriculture sector’. Farmers associated with SKM said if the union government did not pay heed to their demands, they would repeat the 2020–21 agitation. Meanwhile, the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) announced a month-long agitation across Panjab against the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2025. The protest began on 1 Dec when farmers submitted memorandums at district administrative offices highlighting concerns over rising power costs, smart meters, and agricultural policy changes. On 5 Dec farmers will stop trains symbolically for two hours. If their demands are not met, farmers will return prepaid electricity meters to power department offices on 10 Dec, and carry out a two-day sit-in outside all District Commissioners offices on 17–18 Dec, culminating in a statewide rail roko (stop trains) on 19 Dec. Additionally, the Punjab Tax Bar Association, the District Taxation Bar Associations (Sales Tax) and several trade organizations have warned the Panjab government of a state-wide agitation if pending Value Added Tax and Goods & Service Tax refunds are not cleared within 10 days. At a joint press conference, representatives from multiple trade and industrial bodies said that several refund applications have been pending for months despite repeated submissions to authorities (earlier coverage).