Pages

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Landless Poor March to Delhi

About 50,000 landless tribals from across 26 states started their 'Jan Satyagraha' March to Delhi from Gwalior to highlight the problems of landless poor on Oct 03,2012 Wednesday morning.


The tribals gathered under the banner of an NGO Ekta Parishad that organised the 'Jan Satyagraha' protest march covering a distance of 350 km to the country's capital demanding a national land reforms policy that would benefit the landless poor.
 




On Oct 02,2012Tuesday, the Centre had sent Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh and Minister of State for Industries and Commerce Jyotiraditya Scindia to hold talks with the agitators and reach an understanding. Jairam Ramesh gave the Ekta Parishad leaders a written assurance that the Union government would consider their demands but sought for six-month time. Jairam Ramesh also invited the Ekta Parishad to meet the union ministers in New Delhi on October 11 to work out an amicable settlement.
But Gandhian organisation Ekta Parishad chairman P V Rajagopal argued that the Centre's assurance was only an attempt made by the government to take the fizz out of the protest.
 
Before the march, Gandhian organisation Ekta Parishad chairman P V Rajagopal, who has led the movement, told reporters here that they will wait for the government's "positive response in writing" on the issues raised by them, till they reach Agra.

"If nothing concrete comes in writing till then, we would go ahead with our plan to march to Delhi to highlight our demands," he said.
 Nearly 50,000 people in groups of 1,000 each embarked on the march, with its first stop being Banmore town.

The Landless Poor End March at Agra - Thursday Oct 11,2012

 

Thousands of landless poor aborted their march to Delhi on Thursday, accepting the government's promises to initiate land reform and the possibility of statutory backing for the right to shelter, homestead and agricultural land.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh signed a 10-point agreement in Agra — barely 10 days after refusing to sign a similar deal at the march’s starting point in Gwalior — which promises a draft National Land Reform Policy in the next four to six months. 

P.V. Rajagopal, founder of the march organisers Ekta Parishad, signed on behalf of the Jan Satyagrahis.

No comments:

Post a Comment