Farmers Movement Archive

SKM calls for farmers’ protest on Oct. 12

Protesting farm unions have issued a call for farmers to gather again in strength at Tikonia in Uttar Pradesh on October 12, the “ antim ardaas ” day when the last rites would be conducted for the farmers who died at Lakhimpur Kheri last Sunday. From there, the ashes of the victims would be taken to all the districts of Uttar Pradesh, to the gurdwaras of Punjab, and to all the States, to spread the message that “the BJP government was terrorising farmers”, according to leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), which held its general body meeting at the Singhu border on Friday. “There was immense anger not just that such an incident has happened, but that the government is protecting the accused for so long,” said Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of the Dakaunda faction of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), assessing the mood of those who attended the meeting. If the prime accused, Ashish Mishra, was not arrested and his father, Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra, not removed from the Union Council of Ministers by October 11, the SKM vowed to intensify its protest with a nationwide “rail roko ” between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on October 18, followed by a mahapanchayat in Lucknow on October 24 along the lines of the mass gathering in Muzaffarnagar last month. On Dasara, farm unions planned to burn effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. In a statement, the SKM rejected the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the judicial inquiry set up by the Uttar Pradesh Government, noting that the Supreme Court had also said it was not satisfied. It also agreed with the court that an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would not be a solution either, and “demanded an impartial investigation that will report directly to the Supreme Court”, welcoming the court’s order asking the police to keep all evidence intact. ‘Shaheed Kisan Diwas’ Declaring October 12 “Shaheed Kisan Diwas”, the platform of unions protesting against the three farm reform laws appealed to farmers across Uttar Pradesh and the country to make their way to Tikonia on that day. “There would have been at least 20,000 people gathered in Tikonia last Sunday. At that time, the anger could have sparked off a riot between Hindus and Punjabi Sikhs, who [the latter] are major landowners in the area, so [BKU leader] Rakesh Tikait played a key role in preventing that and dispersing the crowd,” said All India Kisan Sabha general secretary Hannan Mollah, who was part of the SKM’s core committee, alleging a conspiracy to provoke communal violence by Mr. Mishra and other BJP leaders. “Now, a big crowd will build up again, but the leaders will ensure that the anger is channelled into peaceful protest,” he added, estimating that 15,000-20,000 people would gather. Senior Punjab farm leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said he was on his way to Lakhimpur Kheri on Friday, and other leaders planned to arrive over the weekend. Mr. Mollah and other leaders confirmed the plans for a “ kalash yatra ” to disperse the ashes of the victims across the country over 10 days. “We want the message to go out as far as possible that the BJP is now actively killing farmers,” he added.

The Hindu

2021-10-09

NEW DELHI