A group of farmers under the banners of Kisan Sabha and Bhartiya Kisan Union today held a protest here against the Centre to pitch for their demands and threatened to launch a nation-wide stir in October, if they were not met.

During the protest, the farmers claimed the compensation given by the Haryana government for crop losses due to untimely rainfall and hailstorm were too little.

The demonstration started from Nehru Park and concluded at Laghu Sachivalaya after which BKU State President Ratan Singh Maan submitted a memorandum of their demands addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Deputy Commissioner.

According to the memorandum, the farmers are demanding to waive off loans of agricultural labourers, bring agriculture under the purview of the MGNREGA, waive off their power bills, release pending payment from sugar mills and roll over the order to increase VAT on petrol and diesel in the state.

BKU state Convener Ramphal Kandela warned that countrywide protests will be organised in October this year if their demands are not met and the executive of the Kisan Sabha has already started preparation for it.

Attacking Haryana Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar, Kandela alleged that before coming in power the minister used to talk about farmers welfare but now is making "insensitive comments".

Those who used to talk about welfare of farmers before coming into power are now leading them to destruction, he said.

Over Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh's comment on farmer suicide, Kandela said, that the farmers will not "forgive" him and will protest against him at the ground level.