Farmers Movement Archive

Ahead of panchayat polls, kisan yatra appeals to farmers 'to cast vote wisely'

PILIBHIT: With a convoy of around 200 tractors and 100 bikes, the 'Kisan Mazdoor Jagrati' yatra which started its journey from Ramraj on March 6 has reached Pilibhit on Thursday evening after touching upon several parts of neighbouring Uttarakhand. The main objective of the yatra is to spread the message against the three farm laws and appeal to marginal and small farmers "to cast their votes wisely" in the upcoming panchayat polls in UP. Most of these farmers had earlier voted for the BJP, sources said. The yatra had been flagged off by Bharatiya Kisan Union's (BKU) Rakesh Tikait on March 6 and is now being led by Jasveer Singh Virk, the national president of Bharatiya Sikh Sangathan. It is scheduled to pass through several UP districts - Lakhimpur Kheri, Shahjahanpur, Sitapur, Bareilly, Badaun, Kasganj - and is expected to conclude its journey at Delhi's Ghazipur border on March 27. The yatra has been peaceful so far, sources said, adding that around 300 tractors may reach the Delhi border to strengthen the farmers' movement by March-end. Without naming the ruling party, Virk called upon the farmers to boycott the candidates of the political party that introduced the contentious agri laws and is continuing with its anti-farmer role, and "cast their vote wisely". “Workers of the ruling party are visiting rural areas extensively to misguide marginal and small farmers by saying that the three agrarian laws are to bring an attractive package of benefits to them and that these may simply affect the interests of the big farmers adversely to some extent," he said, adding that the farmers should be fully aware of their false promises. Office bearers, BKU workers and a large number of farmers in Pilibhit joined the yatra on Friday.

The Times of India

2021-03-13

Bareilly