Farmers Movement Archive

Booed by farmers in west UP, Union minister says 'stir not by khaps'

MEERUT: Union minister Sanjeev Balyan, who faced stiff resistance from farmers during his visit to Bhainswal village in Shamli to meet prominent khap leaders on Sunday, said it was all “politically driven”. Several khaps had even refused to meet him on the issue of the three agriculture laws. Reacting to Sunday’s sloganeering against him, the BJP MP from Muzaffarnagar played it down, saying, “All political parties have representatives in villages. The place I had gone to is very close to a Samajwadi Party leader’s house and if his supporters start sloganeering, that doesn’t mean everyone is sloganeering against me.” Asked if he was able to muster some support from khaps in the region on the farm laws, Balyan said, “Why do you ask me if they are with us or not? I had gone to express my point of view and I did it. That’s it. Moreover, I had visited the place to meet the khap leaders and this protest is of the farmers, not khaps.” Meanwhile, most khaps in the region have maintained distance from the MP. Many of the leaders did not even meet Balyan who was accompanied by several MLAs and UP’s panchayati raj minister Bhupender Chaudhary. Suraj Mal, head of Batisa khap, said, “We will talk to the ministers of this government only when they resign from their party and become like us or get rid of these black farm laws against farmers.” “Whether it’s BJP or any other political party, we want to say that we are with farmers and anyone who talks good of farmers,” said Gathwala khap leader Baba Shyam Singh. Surender Singh, head of the powerful Deshwal khap, said, “We cannot tell the MP not to meet us, but we don’t want to enter into any kind of discourse with him.” The anger among khaps is so palpable that Harkishan Malik, a khap leader,went on to warn the Centre to take back the farm laws or the “farmers will be forced to stop growing crops for public consumption”.

The Times of India

2021-02-23

Meerut