Farmers Movement Archive

Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren seeks Rs 5 crore each for deceased farmers

RANCHI: Chief minister Hemant Soren on Friday sought immediate resignation of Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and demanded Rs 5 crore each for the families of farmers who died during the year-long protests against the Centre’s three controversial farm laws. “We demand that the PM immediately compensate the (families) of the farmers, who died during the protests, with Rs 5 crore each and hail them as martyrs. Their families must be given jobs and the cases and FIRs filed against them must be withdrawn at once,” Soren tweeted. In a series of tweets in the morning, Soren also demanded Rs 10 lakh for each farmer who took part in the protests and the immediate resignation of Tomar. He also mocked BJP and called the announcement a laughing stock. “The PM announced to withdraw the black farm laws this morning. The whole announcement is a laughing stock. Now, the entire BJP machinery will jump into promoting the idea that the PM is a well-wisher of the farmers,” he wrote. Congress hailed the announcement as a victory for the party’s stand and the farmers. “The PM had to relent before the will of the Congress party and the farmers, and we are happy about it. The victory shows that our country does not tolerate dictatorship and that democracy is still alive,” Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur told TOI. Congress workers also lit firecrackers and distributed sweets at the party’s state headquarters to celebrate the announcement. State Congress president Rajesh Thakur (in white shirt), Mandar MLA Bandhu Tirkey (on Thakur’s left) and other party members burst crackers to celebrate the withdrawal of the farm laws, in Ranchi on FridayMeanwhile, JMM mounted a scathing attack on BJP and the Union government over the development. “BJP does not care about the country and is only concerned about winning elections. We are pretty certain that once the elections (in Punjab and UP) are over, they will bring back the laws,” JMM central general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya claimed. JMM also claimed that the Centre has now turned its attention towards the country’s Adivasis and Moolvasis. “By bringing in the forest regulatory authority, they are planning to throw out the tribals from the forests and hand over vast swathes of land to their corporate friends,” Bhattacharya added. The Left parties took out a victory march in Ranchi to celebrate the announcement and distributed sweets to the passers-by. “It is a victory for democracy and a victory of the farmers, students, workers and the intellectuals of the country,” CPI’s state secretary Ajay Singh said. CPM’s state secretary Prakash Viplav said, “This will go down in India’s history as a significant movement. More than 750 farmers died and the Union government left no stones unturned to disrupt the movement. The farmers will retreat from Delhi’s borders only after the laws are withdrawn in Parliament as announced by Modi.”

The Times of India

2021-11-20

Ranchi