Farmers, common people suffering due to increased fuel prices, says Samyukta Kisan Morcha

New Delhi: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of protesting farmer unions, Saturday said that farmers, as well as ordinary citizens, were incurring huge losses due to the rising fuel prices. It said that the increased fuel prices are also resulting in farmers getting lower net Minimum Support Price for their produce. “The Central Government gives lower MSP by wrong calculations of inputs and now due to rising fuel prices, input costs have also increased,” the farmers’ body claimed in a statement. “Along with farmers, ordinary citizens of the country will also suffer huge losses due to the rising prices of petrol, diesel and gas. People are protesting all over the country against rising prices,” it added. Fuel prices have been rising over the past few weeks with petrol price touching an all-time high of Rs 97 per litre in Mumbai on Saturday, while diesel rate crossed Rs 88-mark. The SKM also alleged that even though police arrested several farmers during their February 18 ‘rail roko’ programme across the country and filed “false cases” against them, the “movement will continue”. “Arrests were made during the rail roko programs in several districts in Madhya Pradesh. 50 activists were arrested in Gwalior and 47 were arrested in Riva… The arrested activists were then released from jail. “The government wants to threaten the farmers by putting false cases against them…. Farmers warned the government that despite the Mandsaur incident, the spirit of the farmers was not broken, similarly, this movement will continue,” it said.