Farmers Movement Archive

Inflict ‘vote ki chot’ on BJP, Kisan Morcha urges poll-bound Bengal

Kolkata: Samyukt Kisan Morcha, which has been protesting against the farm laws, on Friday welcomed the resolution passed at the Bengal assembly against the Centre’s farm laws and urged the farmers not to vote for the BJP in the ensuing election in the state. “We welcome Bengal’s step towards passing the resolution against farm laws. We urge people to take a judicious decision before they go to polls,” activist Medha Patkar said. “If you elect a government that does not believe in democratic rights, then the future will become uncertain. They will take advantage of the situation and work in favour of big corporates. The three farm laws will crush the country’s food security,” she added. Addressing the media hours before taking out a rally from the Ram Leela Maidan, Swaraj India’s Yogendra Yadav said: “We are neither supporting any party nor telling people who to vote for. Our only appeal is that BJP should be taught a lesson.” Appealing to people to hit the BJP government at the Centre with “vote ki chot”, Yadav said the state’s people can ruin BJP’s plans. “If they lose the election here, the Modi government will be forced to repeal the farm laws,” Yadav said. On Saturday, the Kisan Morcha partners will hold a maha panchayat in Nandigram, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting the election. This will be followed by a maha panchayat in Singur. Speaking at Friday’s rally, Patkar alleged that BJP was trying to divide people in Nandigram on the lines of religion through Suvendu Adhikari. “The places that have seen farmers’ movements are now witnessing their divisive narratives. They are stating through Adhikari that they will win the polls on the basis of religious divide,” she said. All India Kisan Sabha leader and CPM Politburo member Hannan Mollah claimed that the farmers were being misled about the minimum support price (MSP) of agricultural produce. “The Modi government is the biggest anti-farmer regime in the country,” he said.

The Times of India

2021-03-13

Kolkata