Farmers Movement Archive

BKU (Asli) embarks on ‘Mission 1000 villages’ to intensify farmers’ stir

MEERUT Leaders and supporters of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Asli) will intensify the ongoing farmers’ movement in Uttar Pradesh through their Mission 1000 villages’ ‘to develop it on the lines of Punjab and Haryana. ‘Mission 1000 villages’ means reaching out to people in 1000 villages of west UP and associating them with the farmers’ stir, as per farmer leader Harpal Singh Bilari who leads the BKU (Asli). Bilari worked with stalwart farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait since the beginning of the BKU’s movement in 1987. He was among the four farmer leaders who were booked under NSA in 1997 after they carried out a 110-day movement which resulted in the death of five farmers in police firing. He formed his own organisation BKU( Asli) after the death of Mahendra Singh Tikait in 2011 and has been raising issues of farmers. Bilari is now associated with the 40-member Samyukt Kisan Morcha, which is spearheading the farmers movement. The veteran farmer leader said that farmers were protesting against the three contentious farm laws for over six months but the government had no time for a dialogue with them to resolve the issue. Under such circumstances it was now time to intensify the movement in Uttar Pradesh on the lines of Punjab and Haryana. “A more intensified movement in UP would mount pressure on the government as the state will go to election in the beginning of next year,” said Bilari who has conceptualized ‘ Mission 1000 villages’. Elaborating upon his mission, he said the idea was to reach out to people in 1000 villages of western UP in the coming three months and to associate villagers, especially youngsters, with the movement. “I have started visiting villages since the past one week and so far, covered over 100 villages,” claimed Bilari who has set a target of visiting at least 12 villages daily. The organization’s general secretary Surendra Singh claimed to have received overwhelming response in villages because according to him, in the past six months people had understood importance of the movement. “Legalization of minimum support price (MSP) and repeal of the three farm laws are the demands of protesting farmers and in villages, people now understand their importance. They are, therefore, extending support to the movement”, said Singh. Bilari has visited villages in Sambhal and Amroha districts along with other farmer leaders and supporters and in coming days, they will meet farmers and villagers in Bulandshahr, Hapur, Hathras, Amroha, Rampur, Badaun and Moradabad districts of western UP. The farmers’ leaders aim to associate village youths with the movement, so they get involved in activities which fascinate youngsters. During his visit to Gelua village of Sambhal district, Bilari inaugurated an inter village cricket match and in Mandli village he distributed prizes to cricketers.“Involvement in such activities helps in bringing youngsters closer to us and the movement as well”, he explained. Meanwhile, in its bid to mobilize the masses, the organisation has planned a ‘vehicle rally’ on June 21 in which more than 300 vehicles would gather at Gajraula town of Amroha district and reach Ghazipur border in Delhi after covering a distance of almost 100 kms. The organisation has also planned two big rallies in Dhanaura of Bijnor district and in Sambhal in July to give momentum to the movement. Bilari and his team believe that instead of staging dharna at toll plazas of Meerut and Moradabad regions, supporters of BKU who follow the directions of Rakesh and Naresh Tikait should make all toll plazas free. “It is beyond my understanding why they are simply staging dharna at toll plazas since May 26. They should get them made free for passengers as farmers had done in Haryana and Punjab. Only then would the government listen to farmers,” he said. Bilari advised Rakesh Tikait to let his activists free toll plazas in Meerut and Saharanpur regions and said BKU (Asli) would ensure the same in Moradabad division. The veteran farmer leader advised the Tikait brothers to go hard against the state government and said only then would the state government listen to them. Earlier, Bilari had organised rallies in Bilari, Rajabpur, Bulandshahr and Amroha in which farmers’ leaders Gurnam Singh Chadhuni, Yogendra Yadav, Rajowal and Medha Patekar shared the dais to address farmers.

Hindustan Times

18-06-2021

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