Over 2000 farmers march to Bhopal to protest at CM Mohan Yadav's residence
More than 2000 farmers from Madhya Pradesh marched to Bhopal on Wednesday to protest at CM Mohan Yadav's residence.
In Madhya Pradesh, over 2,000 farmers marched towards the capital Bhopal on Wednesday to gherao Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. The police stopped the farmers just 7 kilometres from the CM's official residence. The farmers of the state were demanding 100% government procurement of moong at MSP.
According to ANI, around 2,000 farmers from various places, including Narmadapuram, Raisen, and nearby districts, reached Bhopal on Wednesday. They broke police barricades at least three times inside the capital, and then the police force stationed near Veer Savarkar Setu, just 7 kilometres from Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's official residence, stopped them from proceeding further. There were also clashes between farmers and police at several places while breaking barricades in Bhopal.
It is noteworthy that this protest march, named 'Kisan Kranti Yatra', is being led by the 'Samyukt Kisan Morcha', which includes farmers associated with 19 farmer organisations. In this demonstration, farmers are marching on foot, accompanied by other farmers riding on motorcycles and tractors. These tractors carry grains and food supplies so that they can continue their agitation in Bhopal for the next few days.
The protesting farmers have two main demands: first, 100% government procurement of moong crop at MSP, and second, the abolition of the 'e-token system' for distributing fertilisers to farmers. The farmers demand that fertilisers be distributed based on land records instead of the e-token system.
Arun Patel, the state president of the youth wing of one of the farmer organisations, 'Krantikari Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan', said,
Farmers will continue their agitation until their demands are met. He said that the protesters are marching to gherao the Chief Minister's residence. He alleged that the farmers were assured of a meeting with the Chief Minister, but they were misled.
Patel alleged,
"We are marching to gherao the Chief Minister's residence. We were assured that the Chief Minister would meet us, but later we were told that he had gone to Delhi, while he was in Datia for election campaigning. Farmers are angry because they feel they are being misled and attempts are being made to weaken their movement."
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath, on Tuesday appealed to the BJP government to expedite the procurement of moong at the minimum support price (MSP). Former CM Kamal Nath said,
"Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer of moong in the country. The central government has approved the procurement of approximately 4.54 lakh metric tonnes of moong from the state for the 2025-26 season, which is about 87% of the total quantity approved for the entire country." Citing media reports, Kamal Nath said that by July 16, only two percent of the approved quantity had been procured in the state. This situation is extremely concerning for millions of farmers. Moong producers are waiting to sell their produce at MSP. Due to the slow pace of procurement, they are being forced to sell their produce at very low prices."
It should be noted that farmers have been protesting for the past three days. After being stopped by the police from marching towards the Chief Minister's residence on Wednesday, they staged a sit-in on the Bhopal-Narmadapuram highway. This movement, focused on the issues of moong procurement and fertiliser distribution, has now entered its third day, but no solution has yet been found.
Under the banner of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and with the participation of around 19 farmer organisations, the protesters started their march from Sethanighat in Narmadapuram district on Monday. Carrying the tricolour and chanting "Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan", they began marching on foot towards Bhopal. By Tuesday evening, around 2,000 farmers had reached the outskirts of the state capital. During this time, they crossed several police barricades, including those at Obaidullaganj and the 11-mile bypass.
On Wednesday, when this group tried to move forward to gherao Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's residence, the police stopped them near the CSIR-AMPRI Institute on the Bhopal-Narmadapuram highway. After this police action, the farmers camped on the roadside, cooked food, and declared that they would not move until their demands were met. A protester, Deepak Jat, told ANI, "We started the march from Budhni and Narmadapuram to gherao the CM House. Today is the third day of our march. Farmers were moving peacefully and democratically towards Bhopal, but the administration stopped us... Even if the government takes a month to accept our demands, the farmers will remain on this road for a month."
It should be noted that there has been a bumper harvest in Madhya Pradesh this season. It is estimated that more than 20 lakh metric tonnes will be produced from 14.30 lakh hectares of land. However, the central government has approved the purchase of only 4.54 lakh metric tonnes under the 'Price Support Scheme'. Farmers fear that if the entire crop is not purchased at MSP, they will face an economic crisis.