Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers' protests: On back foot, farm unions may seek political support

NEW DELHI/BATHINDA: Farmers unions agitating for repeal of the central agri laws may continue to publicly resist the presence of politicians at their platform but they are now looking for their support to take the protest forward. The development comes at a time when the chances of resuming talks with the Centre appear quite bleak and they need to keep up the spirits of their supporters. News of Delhi police’s investigation against farm leaders since the Red Fort violence on R-Day has sent the agitation’s leadership searching for a new plan. Discouraging news from the Chilla and Ghazipur borders on Wednesday night, of cane charge and disconnection of power supply, has increased the anxiety at Singhu and Tikri camps. Confronting the taint of being called "anti-nationals", the frontline unionists face the challenge of lifting the protesters’ morale to keep the stir going. The circumstances had changed and the new plan must be more calculated, with marches ruled out, farm leaders said. The talks option, however, would be difficult unless unions consider forgoing the repeal demand. Though unions, barring those linked to Left parties, are weighing their words at this juncture, there are some who want to explore the option of consultations at the political level while broaching the idea of a demand of joint parliamentary committee to probe the Red Fort incident during the tractor rally. "The movement can no longer be apolitical. After all, the demands are political in character where members in Parliament will have to step in either to repeal the farm laws or to enact a law to give legal guarantee to purchase at minimum support price (MSP). Farmers’ unions will have to take political support to reach their goals," P Krishna Prasad, secretary of the Left-aligned All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), said. The AIKS is represented in talks with the government by its leader and former CPM Lok Sabha member Hannan Mollah, who is also working group member of the AIKSCC, a platform which plays a key decision-making role in the farm unions’ umbrella body Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM). The entire process of talks, however, has taken a peculiar turn where most leaders who have been part of the negotiations will now have to join the police probe on the violence issue as they have been named in the FIRs. "Talks option is always open if the unions reconsider the government’s proposal to take forward the discussion through a joint committee after putting implementation of the laws on hold for 18 months. Police probes can happen simultaneously. The law will take its own course," an official said. The farm leaders, however, want to tread carefully, given their options might be limited. They can engage in talks with the government independently but it remains to be seen if those who had, in internal discussions, expressed the desire to consider the government’s proposal of deferring implementation of the laws find the space to push their suggestions. Sensing the undercurrent of differences in opinion which may harm their unity, the national working group of the AIKSCC, which represents around 500 farmer organisations from across the country, on Thursday issued a statement, appealing to all the farmer leaders of the country "to unite and not give-in to the desperate diversionary and divisive attempts." Seeking to keep its flock together, it said, "The AIKSCC represents the interest and concerns of its constituents and thus firmly stands with the demands of the farmer organisations agitating in unison for repeal of three anti-farmer acts, legal guarantee of MSP and withdrawal of the Electricity Amendment Bill 2020. These are non- negotiable." The 19-member working group of the AIKSCC includes Darshan Pal, Yogendra Yadav, Kavitha Kuruganti, Hannan Mollah, Avik Saha, Kiran Vissa, Medha Patkar and Raju Shetti.

The Times of India

2021-01-29

India