Farmers Movement Archive

Angry peasants protest outside DC’s office

“A farmer is a magician who produces money from mud,” reads a poster held by Gursharan Kaur, which grabbed everyone’s eyeball at the protest called by various farm unions outside the district administration’s office on Monday.Expressing resentment against the three contentious agricultural legislations, Gursharan said, as the protest is expanding every day, it’s disheartening to see our brothers and sisters, braving cold nights on the outskirts of Delhi to preserve our rights.“Even as we are forced to hit roads, we won’t lose hope until the ‘kala kanoon’ (black laws) are repealed,” Kaur said.Along with her, hundreds of farmers from around the region, including women and children, gathered to express solidarity with farmers protesting at the Delhi borders. A tractor rally was also carried out by the young generation of farmers in front of the DC office to draw support from locals. With heavy deployment of cops, farmers made sure that their presence was felt on the city roads. Sloganeering against the Modi-led-BJP government, farmers threatened to intensify their agitation regionally in the days to come.Jarnail Singh, general secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Kadian, said different farm outfits, including BKU-Kadian, Doaba, Lakhowal, Jamhuru, Rajewal, Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee and Punjab Kisan Union among others, were also present.Apart from that, members of Punjab Arhtiya Association, Jalandhar, Potato Growers’ Association, Anganwadi Workers’ Union and other Contractual Workers’ Union also lent support to farmers.Citing the Supreme Court’s statements, that laws are not beneficial for farmers, Harnam Singh, senior vice-president of the District Arhtiya Association said: “Disorganising the existing Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), system will only privatise mandis and the monopoly will remain in the hands of private dealers. Hence, to offer a better price to farmers for their crops, laws should be revoked. Mere announcing amendments or written notifications won’t be enough to contest the laws, therefore, they need to be revoked in the parliament.”Similarly, supporting the farmers’ agitation from Day 1, Vish Karampal Singh Dhiman, district Congress vice-president, who was present at the protest, said: “After months of protest, the Centre still sits unwaveringly in its decision to implement farm laws, which has clearly hurt the sentiments of farmers across the country. It’s high time laws be withdrawn to end protests. Punjab is among the largest markets for agricultural produces and their absence from fields is only making a hole in its economy.Gurpreet Singh Atwal, a BKU member, who returned from Singhu border on Monday, said: “The situation was only getting intense at the Delhi border. It’s been over four months since farmers are protesting against the farm laws, but the government was still unmoved. Now, we don’t want any middle ground, either the government should revoke the laws or continue to witness the historic Kisan Andolan”.Protesters also burnt the effigy of PM Narendra Modi.

The Tribune

2020-12-15

Jalandhar