The saansads who had assembled here from different states in the country called on the people of Punjab not to be taken in by the leaders' ongoing fight for supremacy which had overshadowed the real issues concerning the farmers.

The two-day Sansad, organised by the Bharti Kisan Union, ended with BKU president Bhupinder Singh Mann declaring that it would field ``people's candidates'' in the next elections to rid the country of the present-day political ills.

The entire proceedings of the Sansad were peaceful except for the concluding moments when BKU activists suddenly decided to walk up to the Governor's residence to submit a memorandum on farmers' problems, addressed to the President of India. After being stopped by the police at the crossing of Sectors 17 and 8, they sat on a dharna till an administration representative accepted their memorandum for the Governor.

The Jan Sansad also presented a detailed account of suicides (three lakh in the past 10 years) by debt-trapped farmers all over India. ``The farmers are in trouble because of the treacherous policies of the government, which is restricting free trade of agricultural produce and is deliberately keeping the prices unremunerative. The government is lending help only to big industrialists and businessmen,'' said Uttar Pradesh BKU president Harpal Singh as regards the problems of sugarcane and potato farmers.

A BKU activist from Madhya Pradesh Suvrat decried the bureaucracy for grabbing the major share - 65 per cent - of budget, which was adversely affecting the farmers.

A Panjab University professor P. S. Verma said that empowerment of panchayats would solve most of the problems of the farmer community. ``The farmers will not get their due from the Central or state governments unless we have a strong and powerful system of administration at the grass-roots level in villages. The farmers also need to be more demanding,'' he said.

The Jan Sansad sought the scrapping of the 9th schedule of the Constitution, which debars the farmers from their right to seek justice. It also expressed concern over the corruption plaguing the political and administrative circles. The Sansad demanded the liberation of agriculture from government control as per the GATT agreement, rejected the Rs 550 support price of wheat, asking for an increase to Rs 912 per quintal.

The Sansad also pointed out the need for opening up of trade route for agricultural produce to Pakistan and the Gulf and welcomed Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's initiative for taking the trip to Pakistan through Wagah border.