Farmers Movement Archive

For Pb’s 2nd mahapanchayat, farmer-worker unity at centre

Bathinda: Farm organisation BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) and Punjab Khet Majdoor Union (PKMU) will be holding a second mahapanchayat in Punjab against the three contentious agri-marketing laws by organising a farmer-labour unity rally in Barnala on February 21. Sanyukta Kisan Morcha leaders too will participate in the mahapanchyat. The first such mahapanchayat was held at Jagraon in Ludhiana district on February 11. While mahapanchayats are mostly organised in neighbouring Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh states, they are now being organised in Punjab too. Ekta Ugrahan general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri and PKMU general secretary Lachman Sewewala said the rally would be big in two aspects. “On one side, it will be a milestone to enhance the unity between struggling farmer unions; on the other hand, it will expand the magnitude of this struggle and will realise the unity between farmers and labourers, ensturing participation of organised agricultural labourers in big way. Apart from their demand to repeal farm laws, farm organisations will deal with the impact of these laws on landless farmers and agricultural labourers. This rally will expose the oppressive and treacherous moves used by the government to fail this struggle,” they said. The rally will counter the move of sections labelling the protest as pro-Khalistan, they said. The promulgation to secure non-religious and non-politcal characters of this struggle will be mounted. Jhanda Singh Jethuke, senior vice-president BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), said they had fixed a target of reaching out to every home of 1,500 villages in Punjab. For this, 5 lakh leaflets, 50,000 pamphlets of 25 pages each, and a large number of posters and demand charters have been printed, said Jethuke. He added they were training 5,000 activists by holding extended meetings in 16 districts.

The Times of India

2021-02-14

Amritsar