Farmers Movement Archive

Be our voice in Parliament or face stir, farmer unions tell MPs

Tribune News ServiceChandigarh, July 14“We elected you our leaders to represent our cause in Parliament. If you do not raise your voice in favour of our demand for the repeal of farm laws, we will oppose you and your party.” This is the message the farmers are sending to all MPs ahead of the monsoon session.As farmer unions, protesting for over seven months, prepare to send “jathas” of 200 farmers each outside Parliament on all days of the session, they have also decided to involve parliamentarians in their fight against the three laws.Calling it “voters’ whip”, the farm unions are asking parliamentarians to demand the repeal of farm laws, or face opposition from their side. The message will be sent to all MPs via email before the monsoon session.Talking to The Tribune, Balbir Singh Rajewal, a prominent leader of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha and president of the BKU (Rajewal), said they wanted to know why the MPs had failed to raise their issue in Parliament even as it had been debated in parliaments of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK.Keeping in mind the January 26 violence, farm unions are now verifying antecedents of all volunteers who will march towards Parliament between July 22 and August 13.Krantikari Kisan Union’s Dr Darshan Pal said every union had been asked to send five delegates daily to head for Parliament. “If a jatha of farmers is stopped and arrested, the next jatha will march the next day. We will continue this till the end of session. On July 26 and August 9, the jathas will comprise only women,” he said.

The Tribune

2021-07-15