Farmers Movement Archive

With 2nd wave waning, farmers’ movement picks up steam

After a lull of almost two months during the surge of the pandemic, the farmers’ movement is gaining momentum again in different districts of western UP.Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leaders and supporters staged a demonstration at different toll plazas of Moradabad and Meerut region on May 26 to mark six months of the movement of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha. Though initially planned to be a day-long affair, the demonstration is still on at six toll plazas at least. Local BKU leaders are leading these protests and they have declared to continue supporting the movement. BKU leader Rakesh Tikait visited toll plazas in Kowla (Rampur), Dalpatpur (Moradabad) and Joya (Rampur) on Tuesday to meet demonstrating farmers and BKU leaders, who freed the toll plazas for a few hours before arrival of the leader. Tikait compared PM Narendra Modi with Kim Jong-un of North Korea and accused him of grabbing everything in the country. He called upon farmers to prepare for a long battle as the protest could continue till the next Lok Sabha elections. Tikait sat with protestors at each toll plaza and told them not to be afraid of police tactics and the toll plaza administration that are sending notices to protestors. “We will fight and win,” said Tikait.Meanwhile, a similar protest is on at toll plazas of Sivaya (Meerut), Chapar and Rohana (Muzaffarnagar) where protestors had freed the toll plaza for some time on Monday. At the Rohana toll plaza the protest is being led by BKU’s Charthàwal block president Kushalveer Singh, while BKU leader Sanjay Dauraliya is leading the protest at the Sivaya toll plaza. Leaders of AAP and Congress parties have also extended support to the protests and they handed over letters of their parties support to the protesting farmers. Meanwhile, BKU has also started reviews of the movement and evolving strategies to give momentum to the movement after the pandemic’s second wave. BKU’s state spokesperson Dharmendra Malik said that reviews of Meerut, Saharanpur, Agra, Aligarh and Moradabad divisions have been completed and Bareilly division’s review would be completed soon. Sharing the decisions taken in the review meetings, Malik said that BKU’s block presidents have been given responsibility to send a tractor and 11 persons to Ghazipur border from their respective blocks on rotation of 10 days. “It will help us keep an adequate number of farmers at the Ghazipur border,” said Malik and added that “protests at toll plazas will continue to extend support to the movement”. Meanwhile, a similar meeting was convened at Budhana block of district Muzaffarnagar on Monday where BKU leaders directed all village-level leaders to mobilise people to participate in the movement in the coming days.

Hindustan Times

03-06-2021

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