Farmers Movement Archive

Centre unyielding, so are farmers: More to head for Delhi from Feb 27

Bathinda: Farm organisations are planning to mobilise more activists to protest sites on the borders of Delhi from February 27, when the ongoing agitation against the central government’s three agro-market laws will complete three months. Even as the laws have sparked widespread protests in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, the Centre has been toughening its stand against their demand to repeal the laws. Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar had on Sunday hit out at farmers groups by saying that merely gathering a crowd — in this case, thousands of people protesting on three national highways which enter Delhi — would not lead to revocation of laws and farmers should tell the government which provisions in the laws they found against their interests. Farm unions feel mobilisation of support is the foremost option with them at the moment and only this will force the central government to rethink on its stand. They may plan another strategy after February 28, when the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) will meet again. Under the plan, farm organisations have banked on the appeals they have made in mahapanchayats to farmers to reach Delhi borders on February 27, but not at the cost of leaving the ripening wheat crop unattended. “Though the minister has claimed that laws could not be revoked only by ensuring gathering of crowds, we are banking on ensuring more farmers reach the protests. With this, we could pressure the government to either restart dialogue process or simply get ready to concede to our demand,” said farm organisation BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan. Farm leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said they needed to ensure that more farmers and people from other walks of life reach protests. “The government feels that as harvesting season is about to start, farmers will shun protests, but it is a mistaken as many farmers will leave behind younger members of their families to take care of crops,” he said. Another farmer leader, Ruldu Singh Mansa, said noth sustaining the protest and taking care of crops was important for farmers. “But the government is only trying to mislead the nation and the farmers by making vague claims. When we gather crowds, we will force the government to listen to us,” he said.

The Times of India

2021-02-23

Chandigarh