Farmers Movement Archive

Himmat to coordinate dialogue with Gujarat farmers’ unions, to mobilise agitation

Jaipur: In a bid to mobilise the farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws in Gujarat, the Samyunkt Kisan Morcha — a group of 40 farmers’ unions — will be sending a team of 4-5 members, including Rajasthan farmer leader Himmat Singh, to the state to have a dialogue with the farmers’ unions and associations there.The team will also talk to all the opposition political parties in the state to mobilise the movement in Gujarat, where, according to the farmer leaders, the agitation hasn’t gained momentum as there is a sense of ‘fear and insecurity’ among the farmers’ unions.Singh said they are already in touch with Bharatiya Tribal Party’s (BTP) Chhotubhai Vasava, Congress party’s Hardik Patel, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).“We will first go to Bardoli (Surat) in Gujarat and meet the farmers there. We are planning to start our movement in the state from Bardoli (where a farmers’ movement was led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1928 against the British government’s decision to increase land revenue taxes),” Singh told TOI. Singh on Saturday met SKM leaders at Delhi’s Singhu border to discuss the matter.“We will first have a meeting there (Bardoli) and will try to unite all the farmers’ unions. The farmers’ agitation has not gained momentum in Gujarat yet. We will also meet the farmers in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Junagadh, Saurashtra and Rajkot. After meeting the farmers in these places, we will return to Delhi and submit a factual report to SKM. We will try to understand their problems and then develop a roadmap for the agitation in the state. We will encourage them to join the farmers’ movement,” he added.Singh further said, “The agitation has not gained momentum there because the farmers are not allowed to hold panchayats there and if they organize protests, they are required to seek permission from the courts. Farmers are being suppressed in Gujarat and they don’t have the freedom to stage a protest or demonstration. Some of the farmers from the state have joined the agitation at Singhu border, the movement hasn’t picked up there.”BoxHimmat meets with minor accidentJaipur: Rajasthan farmer leader Himmat Singh met with a minor accident as a Nilgai suddenly came in front of his car on Saturday night while he was returning from Delhi’s Singhu border. He suffered a fracture on his right hand and is under treatment at Jaipur’s EHCC hospital.

The Times of India

2021-03-01

Jaipur