Farmers Movement Archive

Farm leaders blame ‘anti-social elements’

“Some rogue criminal elements are causing the problem. There is a conspiracy to give a bad name to farmers,” Mr. Mollah told The Hindu , noting that protesting farmers have conducted a peaceful agitation for the last seven months since the three laws were initially brought in as ordinances. The SKM noted that peaceful protests had been held in many parts of the country on Tuesday, including tractor parades in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Bihar. Even in Delhi, the majority of tractors stuck to the agreed routes, while thousands of others were not even able to leave the protest sites. “If you look all across the country, there may be over a crore people on the streets. There are a few hundred who are breaking rules here. The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee are not a main part of the movement,” said Mr. Mollah. “Someone who is breaking the rules like this, causing disturbance, actually helps the government to win, and they cannot be called part of the movement... Putting up a flag at Red Fort was never the aim for farmers,” he added. BKU-Tikait leader Rakesh Tikait, who led the group on the Ghazipur border blamed the prolonged struggle for more than six months, and the protests of more than two months on the borders of Delhi as a reason for the situation. He also blamed the Delhi police for the farmers’ initial deviation from the agreed route, saying that because barricades were not placed at the right locations, tractors got lost and accidentally wandered into Delhi. “As a result, undesirable elements and some organisations got a chance and tried their best to disrupt this parade. BKU disassociates itself from those involved in this act,” he said. At the Shahjahanpur border, where the parade ran smoothly, Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav initially posted a video pleading with protesters in the city not to tarnish the movement. Later in the evening, he said he would take responsibility. “Being a part of the protest, I feel ashamed of the way things proceeded and I take responsibility of it,” he told a television channel.

The Hindu

2021-01-27

January 27 2021 00:00 IST