Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers unions to widen protest against farm laws with panchayats in Purvanchal

After playing a key role in organising the farmers’ movement against the three Central farm laws in western Uttar Pradesh and other states, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has now decided to hold kisan mahapanchayat (village congregations) in eastern UP, also known as Purvanchal, said a Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader on Monday.The first such mahapanchayat would be held in Barabanki district on February 16 with farmers from Lucknow and Ayodhya divisions participating in it. The second such mahapanchayat would be held in Fatehpur district in Prayagraj division on February 23.The Fatehpur mahapanchayat would be followed by similar gatherings in Gorakhpur, Basti and Mirzapur, the BKU leader said.“Kisan leaders were getting demands (for widening the protests) from farmers and other organisations in Purvanchal after successfully mobilising protests for the Raj Bhavan ‘gherao’ programme on January 23,” said Digamber Singh, BKU’s youth wing state president.He said the issue was discussed in meetings of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and it was unanimously decided to hold kisan mahapanchayat in Purvanchal to mobilise farmers for the ongoing movement against the three agriculture reform laws.BKU’s Lucknow divisional president Harnam Singh Verma said he was confident that these maha panchayats would draw large crowds though farmers in Purvanchal had limited resources in comparison to their western UP counterparts.Verma said, “Procurement of crops at MSP (minimum support price) has always been a major issue for farmers in Purvanchal. It was a major demand of SKM, too. Therefore, farmers would come out in large numbers and join the movement.”Also Read: Several Delhi borders remain closed due to farmers’ protest, traffic divertedVerma said a large section of people from different castes and communities could also join the farmers’ movement through the maha panchayats to voice their concerns. Farmer leaders said that SKM’s call for a protest at the Raj Bhavan in Lucknow on January 23 saw an overwhelming response with the participation of around 600 tractors at a short notice of four days. “This shows people are annoyed and they would show their strength through the maha panchayats in Purvanchal,” said Verma.Meanwhile, people familiar with the developments said BKU leader Rakesh Tikait, BKU chief Naresh Tikait and his son Gaurav Tikait (national president of BKU’s youth wing) would be present at some of these maha panchayats.

Hindustan Times

09-02-2021

India