Farmers Movement Archive

TMC to back farmers’ protest, will join dharna if they ‘allow’

Lucknow: The UP TMC will extend full support to farmers protesting against the farm laws. However, before joining their protest the TMC would seek permission from agitating farmers. Giving this information to TOI here on Thursday, UP TMC president Neeraj Rai said, “If farmers allow us to join them we will sit on dharna with them. We will not go there just to meet them and return.” He said that members of the state unit of Trinamool Congress along with a group of farmers would visit the protest site soon to show solidarity with protestors. The state TMC unit has started making inroads in UP keeping its eyes on 2024 general elections. UP assembly election due early next year is what the party sees as prelims to the general elections. Though the TMC’s state unit was set up in 2005, it got a renewed vigour only after its third win in West Bengal this month. The victory in West Bengal assembly elections for the third time where the BJP went full throttle has made the TMC stronger and a key opposition to the ruling BJP. In UP, it intends to make the farmers’ protest its poll plank. Since the presence of political leaders at the protest site has time and again brought allegations that it could be a politically driven protest the TMC will seek permission from the farmers first. The state unit of TMC has also launched a membership drive UP.

The Times of India

2021-05-28

Lucknow